What's got all the kids worried?

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New Delhi: It's only in the last seven to 10 years worldwide that experts have started focusing on mental health in children and adolescents.

Complaints like ‘My daughter's been throwing temper tantrums’ and ‘My son doesn't like to go to school and he's been wetting his bed,’ are not uncommon these days.

"I've been in practice for 16 years and I have noticed that the anxiety one saw in a class XII child is now seen in a class II or III student. It’s anxiety that surrounds issues like not wanting to go to school, anxiety about exams and anxiety about eating," says a psychologist, Dr Madhumati Singh.

The question that arises is why are six or seven-year-olds suffering from anxiety disorders like panic attacks and Obsessive Compulsive Disorders (OCD)?

We can blame it not just on better diagnoses, but also lifestyle changes — children are exposed to much more, much younger. It could be watching violent images on television or being in relationships at a very young age.

"I think we have regressed by about four years or so. For example, sexual issues used to be more pronounced in class XI or XII. But now children in class VI, VII and VII get muddled with sexual issues though not intimacy," says Dr Madhumati Singh.

An early encounter with grown-up issues can lead to grown-up levels of stress and then there can be an underlying problem that parents are unwilling or unable to recognise.

Especially if the parents are professionals, they are very achievement-oriented and if they have a child who suffers from a disorder, acceptance becomes even tougher.

"Ignoring the problem can lead to serious behavioural issues and this gets worse when kids are called lazy, stupid or hyperactive when they may actually have genuine problems," says Managing Director of Orkids Learning Centre, Geet Oberoi.

"It could be a learning disability, which usually three to four kids in every class have, or even Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD), which affects about 5 per cent of school kids," he adds.

As a parent, if you are ever worried about your child’s development, experts suggest instead of ignoring it, go out and get an objective opinion.