Dangers of ignoring child’s mental status

Qn. “Is there an appropriate age to look out for any extremes in the mental state in children?”

In the way your question is framed, any answer we give will be impossible to digest, and for that reason, bear with me if we rephrase the question slightly to read, “At what age must one start looking out for signs of mental illness in children?” Put this way, we are able to begin a conversation about mental health and children.

Some years ago, under some pressure from teachers and parents, we publicised a short book under the title, “What’s wrong with this child? A guide for teachers and parents” .The book was published by Oxford University Press and is still available, and is relevant to the question you ask.

Before addressing illness, it might be helpful for you to understand that right from birth, each baby is different from the other, and their “personality” is clearly defined from a very early age.

Within a few weeks of birth, experienced mother will talk about “this baby being very difficult to please”. Such a baby will have episodes of “colic” in which they scream for no apparent reason and will in general be difficult children to look after.

Other mothers will talk of the nice baby who is easy to put on a regular regime. Such a child is easy to put into rhythm, with respect to sleep and feeding and will be easy to satisfy. Some mothers talk of the way some babies are easy to cuddle while others seem to fight at the breast.

That humans are different from birth is no doubt and child psychiatrists and psychologists are clear at this point. What is less clear, and is relevant to your question is whether these differences persist in childhood and later adulthood, and also whether they predict the later development of mental illness.

In the definition of some conditions that afflict children, there is the requirement that the symptoms be present both at home and at school, and must be recognisable before the age of 12. This applies to the very common condition called Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

Other conditions that one should be familiar with in children must include the Autistic Spectrum disorder, as well as various forms of intellectual disability.

We are often asked if children suffer from conditions such as depression, and if they do, what would make a child become depressed. In the latter question is a manifest misunderstanding of the condition Clinical Depression. There does not have to be “a cause” for one to develop a depressive illness. Some cases of depression “come from the blue” and are not caused by anything we can see.

There are a number of changes that parents and teachers could look out for in children. For example, a child who was able to sleep in his room in the dark suddenly insists on sleeping with his parents. This should alert the parents to the possibility that the child is either developing anxiety disorder or a depressive illness (or indeed both). Paradoxically some parents think that wanting to sleep with them is a sign of much love! It is a sign of insecurity by the child.

Another early sign that all is not well is a sudden drop in school performance. If a boy or girl who has always done well in school drops in performance, gets into trouble with teachers or other children, then it is time to find out what could have gone wrong. Many children whose school performance drops are beaten by their ignorant parents who interpret such poor performance as laziness! Beating such children or withdrawing love as so many parents do makes a depressed child even worse with a further drop in performance.

Some children manifest mental illness by change in eating habits. Some will eat too much while others will lose weight because they are unable to eat. Still others will sleep too much while others will be unable to sleep. As you can see, children do suffer from many types of mental illnesses from an early age.