We all know that God exists everywhere and children are the form of God but today our children are feeling depressed and helpless due to the epidemic of Coronavirus that has infected the world. Although novel coronavirus has affected every age group it is the children who got affected the most. Since the day, the government has announced the lockdown, children feel imprisoned in homes like animals in the zoo even though it is not their fault. This lockdown period and quarantine has effected the mental, physical and emotional development of children. They are not allowed to play, they can’t go to school, they can’t meet their friends, no study, no routine, and nothing. Life has become monotonous and still for them. This has made them frustrated, irritated, and stressed and they keep on questioning – Mumma “When it is going to end?”, “Why we are being quarantined?” 

Dr. Pooja Grover, a child counselor observed the children’s behavior during this quarantine period and discussed the issue with Jugaadin news. She gives some very useful tips that parent can use to make their bonding strong during this difficult situation. She says “The answers to above questions are not available with any parent. No one wants their child to become lazy, video games freak and active on social networking sites all the time but today’s children don’t want to spend time with family. Though they are at home they are not with the family.

Working parents don’t spend a lot of time with their children that’s why children nowadays feel as if they are being monitored every time by the elders. The parent keeps on telling them what to do and what not to. The independence of 21st-century children is being lost but if we look at the other side, at the same time they are happy that they are able to spend some quality time with their parents. They both are trying to understand each other. The bonding is getting stronger. They get time to spend playing indoor games like Ludo, Snakes and Ladders, Chess, Carom, etc. The parent can help them in managing their time table by dividing the time equally in all activities – learning, enjoying, playing, studying so as to pass time smoothly.

The sensitivity of the matter is being monitored by children on a regular basis and this makes them more responsible. They are following the instructions of Prime Minister Narender Modi Ji by maintaining Social distancing, washing hands, not going outside, etc.

 Earlier, it was said that “United we stand divided we fall “but today’s demand is united we fall. Let’s pray together that things get normal as soon as possible.

In the end, Pooja Grover said “As a parent without being panic, you should teach children how to stay focused, self-controlled. Reassure children that the situation will get better.

Some examples of mental disorders that are diagnosed during childhood include attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), oppositional defiant disorder (ODD). Mental disorders that occur during either childhood or adulthood include anxiety disorders such as social phobia and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD); and mood disorders such as depression.

A clinical psychiatrist is a medical doctor who can diagnose mental illnesses and write prescriptions for medication. Often, the two will work together to provide a combination of counseling and medication.

Along with medications, psychological treatments or psychotherapy are used in treating the patient.

Types of Psychotherapy are:

Art Therapy

It’s a non threatening form of healing where children draw a story of their life events and conditions that they are struggling to tell feelings. Art therapy is used to treat ADHD, anxiety, depression. After that therapists study the drawing and according to color scheme what child has used help him to make an inference about the mental condition. He/ she then try to discuss with child.

Play Therapy

The technique is used to treat the child of age 3 to 14. Play therapy is used to treat mental disorders such ODD, ADHD, anxiety, and depression. It also involves a non-threatening form of communication in which toys represent words. As the name indicates, play therapy, it involves playing. Children engage in storytelling followed by identifying the feelings of characters in the story; role-playing with puppets as a form of feeling projection; and blowing bubbles to improve deep and controlled breathing. The therapist observes feelings and disturbing behavior.

Parent Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT)

It helps parents and children who struggle with behavior problems or connection through real-time coaching sessions. Parents interact with their children while therapists guide families toward positive interactions.

Applied Behavior Analysis

Children with more severe mental challenges are treated with operant conditioning. This involves reinforcing a desired behavior in increments through cognitive-behavioral techniques.

It is very important to diagnose the problem in children and provide healing facility to them because if a child does not receive necessary care, the illness may continue into adulthood, creating high risk and issues.

Disclaimer: This content including advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist or your own doctor for more information. Jugaadin News does not claim responsibility for this information.

Reasons:

Behind the mental illness of children, three main reasons can be there: physical, mental and social. Physical factors include heredity and chances of other family members to have the same problem. Mental factors include what child thinks about him, or about a certain situation. Social factors are those factors and conditions in which child has grown.

The main reason for depression in children are- unnecessary expectations from parents, differences between parents and their separation, pressure to bring the maximum marks, change in schools due to job, abused by peer groups etc. There are many children who have lack of self confidence, they keep on thinking about their looks, weight, height and figure. Their friends keep joking on them for their poor performance and bad looks which make them depressed. They are unable to share the feeling with anyone and parent are not able to understand the condition, that’s why psychiatrists say that parent need to keep in mind that symptoms of depression can vary in small and young children. If parent are not cautious about their children’s behavior, they do not pay attention to their points and problems, then this can have serious consequences.

How counseling helps?

If parent came to know that his child is suffering from the depression, they should follow him for some days. They should look for the changes in him. For more information they can contact their friends and ask teachers for any notable change. It is also possible that children can’t talk to their parent freely on this topic, that’s why they should consult psychiatrist. According to Psychiatrists, counseling is not necessary only for the children, parent also require same level of session. Sometime, session can be taken with both child and parent together but prior to that permission should be taken from the child, if he is comfortable in front of them.

Clinical psychiatrists say that presence of parent is necessary during the treatment of the child as sometime parent are unaware of the problem.  The depression is dwelling in our children’s mind and thus it is necessary that parent should not be strict with them, don’t crush their ambitions, should pay attention on them, congratulate them on their victory, indulge them in important discussions, increase their confidence , don’t compare with them to others. If possible, take the help of counselors who deal in mental health issues.

Hundreds of students participated in the seminar where they were guided by the 4 experts from their fields. Dr. Pooja Grover (Child Counseling expert), Nikhil Rawal (Career Counseling expert), S.K. Hadda ( Motivator) and Er. Manmohan Singla (Youth Entrepreneurship  Expert).

They all gave their personal experiences and motivate the crowd to learn from the past mistakes. It is very much important for a child and for a parent to know in which stream his child is having interest. Never try to imposed what others think is right. Unless and until your strength is kept hidden, you can’t succeed. As it is our tendency to give 100 percent only when we get work of our interest. Also students came to know about their interest about specific field through IQ and Psychometric tests conducted by the team.