Lots of parents worry about child depression. Some children have periods of sadness in their lives and they often naturally overcome them with support. But how can you tell if it’s more serious and your child is depressed?
Signs your child may be depressed
It’s common to go through short periods of sadness as a child, particularly because of a specific event like bereavement, changing school, or friendship difficulties. However, it’s important to look out for signs that your child may be depressed.
Signs of depression include:
- Showing less interest in their usual hobbies: They might give up clubs they previously enjoyed and not just because they’ve grown out of them or moved onto a new interest.
- Stopping socialising: You may notice they are spending more time alone and making excuses not to see friends or family.
- Lack of energy: They may seem to sleep all the time, seem too tired to do normal everyday things, and take a long time to do tasks.
- Decline in school: Dropping test scores, lack of interest in school work, and concerns from school when they were previously fine could all be signs something’s wrong.
- Low self-esteem: Your child thinks they are worthless.
- Feeling guilty: They might blame themselves when things go wrong, even when it’s completely out of their control.
- Feeling misunderstood: They feel no one understands them.
- Sudden aggression and impulsivity: You may find them damaging things, vandalism, or angry outbursts.
- Self harm: They may talk about or research self-harming online, use clothing to cover more of their body than usual, or start self-harming.
- Suicidal thoughts or actions: Your child may talk about things being better if they weren’t around.
These signs of depression are not a checklist to work through and, when taken in isolation, may not mean that your child is depressed. But, if you have a gut feeling that something is wrong, it’s important you seek help immediately.
