Preschoolers and depression

Date : Thursday, January 21 2010
Source: Autourina Mains

Depression in preschoolers is a reality.  It is difficult to fathom that children who are typically joyous and carefree may feel depressed, but it is vital for parents and care providers to be aware of the reality of it.  Causes of depression in preschoolers may be biological or environmental.  Our lives have changes drastically and often times our children are over scheduled, over stressed and over pressured (forced to meat developmental milestones before they are ready) which can lead to depression or exhibiting symptoms of depression. Other factors causing depression may be domestic abuse, drug abuse (by the parents), poverty, and lack of quality care.

Possible signs of depression include:

• Difficulty playing with others or objects
• Language delay or lack of ability to communicate
• Fights with others repeatedly
• Sad
• Unusually fearful
• Responds to situations inappropriately (e.g., laughs instead of cries)
• Seems withdrawn or extremely active
• May exhibit loss of age appropriate skills  such as toileting, language, motor
• Sudden changes in behavior, eating and sleeping patterns
• Destructive to self and/or others
• Increase guilt or shame
• Extreme fatigue
• Death themes in play
• Frequent complaints of physical illness

What you can do to help:

• Surround children with nurturing  relationships
• Have consistency and establish daily routine
• Provide stable, nurturing, caring environment at home and at the child care
• Be aware of developmental stages and have appropriate expectations
• Models good behavior and positive ways to manage conflict
• Recognize what you do and what you are going through affects your child. If you are stressed, your child will be stressed.
• Be understanding of the child’s behavior and be reassuring when they are scared or angry

Providing a nurturing environment that is conducive to learning is quite vital.  We know that when children are exploring their environment and learning new skills, it boosts their self-esteem.

Sometimes parents don’t have a support system (family members nearby) and the care providers can be that support system to help parents.  Sometimes parents need someone to talk to or to give parenting advice.  A quality child care program includes parent education, knowledge of early childhood development, developmentally appropriate practices and community services.  It is important to be aware of signs and symptoms of depression in preschoolers as well as knowledge of your community resources in order to help the child and the family access early intervention. 

Treatment includes family and child therapy, parent and caregiver education, and child play therapy.  Please be very cautious to NEVER diagnose depression because this is a medical diagnosis requiring professional identification and treatment.