The quality of a person’s childhood determines a lot about their adult life. Your early years pave the road for the rest of your life. Children with healthy childhoods often experience less mental health issues later in life. Raising children can be a tricky job. It can be difficult to guess whether your child is just going through a phase or there’s something seriously wrong with their behaviour. A tantrum does not mean your child has behavioural problems, but some behaviours can be concerning enough to label them as disorders.

Behavioural Problems in Children

A child can act in weird ways when they are tired, hungry, excited or angry. Being overly emotional and sensitive in childhood is normal for a person. However, if your child’s behaviour becomes challenging, it could mean something else is at play. Often children develop psychological disorders earlier in childhood. If your child shows such behaviours, then detecting and correcting them is the best course of action that could help them avoid many problems later in life.

You can define behaviour as challenging when your child puts themselves or others at risk. These behaviours may not exactly be risky, but they can lead to poor quality of life. Such behaviours can interfere with a child’s proper daily functioning and create problems for them such as learning disabilities.

There are several types of behavioural disorders in children. Some of the most common ones are described below.

• Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
• Emotional behaviour disorder
• Conduct Disorder
• Eating Disorders
• Schizophrenia
• Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD)
• Anxiety and depression
• Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) etc.

How to find a Behavioural Problems Therapist

If you are looking to find the perfect Behavioural Problems therapist it is crucial to make sure that they have the appropriate qualifications, knowledge and experience. At Expat Therapy 4U we only accept therapists who have full professional proficiency in English and are highly experienced in working with people from culturally diverse backgrounds. The clinicians we approve share our values and commitment to provide high quality therapy to the expatriate community in the private sector across Europe and online worldwide. We strongly believe that therapy changes lives, and being accredited ensures all our therapists are qualified to a high standard. You can find a Behavioural Problems therapist who is insured to practice and accredited with a recognised membership body online here.

Symptoms of Behavioral Issues in Children

These are some warning behavioral signs that your child may have a mental health disorder.

• Persistent sadness and irritability in the mood.
• Withdrawal from social activities such as playing outside or attending school.
• Hurting oneself or trying to inflict harm on themselves or others.
• Talking about death or suicide.
• Physical aggression.
• Inattention and difficulty focusing.
• Extreme emotional outbursts of anger or intense irritability.
• Any form of harmful out of control behaviour.
• Sudden and persistent changes in mood, behaviour or personality.
• Changes in eating habits and a loss of appetite.
• A sudden loss or gain of weight.
• Difficulty sleeping or having problems such as insomnia.
• Frequent headaches or stomach aches.
• Avoiding or missing school.
• Changes in academic performance.
• Struggling to manage their emotions and having occasional temper tantrums.
• Having poor impulse control such as yelling on their teachers.
• A failure to respond to discipline and exhibition of extreme misbehaviour.
• Withdrawal or having difficulty in social interactions.

Causes of Behavioral Problems in children

There can be many reasons for your child to develop behavioural problems. Some of the most common ones are:

Genetics

A person’s genetic makeup plays an important role in how they respond to certain aspects of life. Having any sort of impairment such as speech, vision or any other disability can cause behavioural issues. Other than that, some mental illnesses can also be inherited from parents.

Environmental causes

Majority of problematic behaviours are caused by some features of the family. If the child is directly or indirectly subjected to violence, they can develop violent tendencies themselves. Similarly, an over-disciplined environment or having no discipline at all can cause behavioural problems.

Also, the influence from media or other sources in the environment such as bullying, harassment or neglect can affect a child’s responses to a great deal.

Family

Children with impoverished families are more likely to experience hyperactivity and aggressiveness. One reason for this could be lack of proper responses from parents that are undergoing economic crises themselves. If poverty is problematic and long-lasting, these behaviors are reinforced and thus persist.

Treatments for Behavioral problems in children

If you observe disturbing patterns in your child’s behaviours, the best course of action is to consult a health professional who can guide you better. Fortunately, behavioural problems in children can be effectively treated with the help of many interventions. Some of them are:

Therapy

There are several therapy options that can help your child correct and develop better behaviours.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

CBT involves helping children and their parents identify and deal with the difficulties a child experiences. A therapist can understand a child’s behaviour and help them learn different strategies to help them cope with their life’s problems. This helps a child change the way they look at things.

Parent-child Interaction training

This program helps children and parents develop better relationships. It helps children and parents learn positive ways for communication and thus develop a stronger bond with one another. During these sessions, the therapist provides instructions and educates the parents about how they should act. Depending on the severity of your child’s symptoms, you may have sessions for six to eight weeks with the therapist.

Collaborative training sessions

Both parents and children can learn how to manage disruptive behaviours including ADHD, OCD, ODD and CD. Knowing effective strategies can be helpful for both the child and parents. Over the course of sessions, you and your child establish rules, routines and individual responsibilities. Behavioural therapists can help families develop more customizable rules according to their own leisure. This way, the therapist helps them track and determine what to expect and how to properly change behaviour over time.

Individual and family therapy

One on one counselling with a child can help them express themselves better without the presence of an authority figure. This way the child can be expressive and improve social skills. This way the child can honestly communicate their relationships with siblings, parents, teachers, friends and be open about how they feel. In a similar way, a psychologist can encourage parents to learn skills that they can apply at home.

Find a Behavioural Problems Therapist through the Expat Therapy 4U platform

Improving your child’s behaviour from early on in life can help them live better in the years to come. If you suspect that your child’s behavior is somehow different from other children, you should consult a therapist. Getting help will resolve their issues and help them lead a better life.

Further Readings on Behavioural Problems

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/social-care-and-support-guide/caring-for-children-and-young-people/how-to-deal-with-challenging-behaviour-in-children/

https://theinternationalpsychologyclinic.com/problems/behavioural-problems-counselling-london/

https://theinternationalpsychologyclinic.com/the-10-most-common-parenting-issues-and-how-to-deal-with-them/