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7 year old daughter hearing voices

by shadetree66, Jun 16, 2007 12:00AM
My daughter is hearing voices. She has mentioned this off and on since she was 3. (It used to be she "had a friend in her head"). I figured it was probably an imaginary friend since she doesn't have any siblings who still live at home. Today I asked her whose voice it was. She said that it was just "the girl's" voice. Sometimes it tells her to do bad things (like give in to peer pressure--climb the small storage shed, eg.) Now she says if it tells her to do something bad she can put it down the chute and get a new person who looks the same. Sometimes the voice will comfort her during a test. She is the one who "makes the dreams". When I asked her to give me an example of something she says (since she talks all the time when no one else is talking) my dh told me to be quiet. After several seconds, she chuckled and said, "Deer Tracks are not available to the phone. You're insane". We have finally ascertained that the voice is coming from within her head--not as if someone is talking to her from outside her head. My dh is really quite bright--she does well in school, so it does not appear to be affecting her academically. She is well-liked and is extrememly well behaved. This does not seem to be affecting any other part of her life, but she says that it is annoying to her. Does this sound like a medical problem a psychological problem or what? Thank you for any help!
Member Comments (28)

by Cleveland Mom, Jun 16, 2007 12:00AM
It sounds like she may be experiencing auditory hallucinations.  Talk to her doctor.  The physician will likely refer her for a psychological evaluation.  Halluncinations can be caused by a delirium i.e. fever, infection, by drugs and drug withdrawl, by dementia, neurological problems and by psychiatric disorders.  I would take this seriously and talk her physician.  Best wishes...

by koukla29, Jun 16, 2007 12:00AM
Definitely take her to the pediatrician.  I think it's always a good idea to rule out any medical issues.  Since you say that she functions well in all other settings, and has social connections (friendships), I think your daughter might have a great imagination.  Has a teacher or other adult ever approached you about her "voices".  For example, in class today your daughter was having a conversation with herself, or she seems to be losing friends over some of her erratic type behaviors.  This would be cause for great concern.  However, if she is only telling you these things when she is alone and bored, I think she has tons of imagination.  

First step, though take her to the pediatrician to make sure there are no medical issues that might be causing this.  Best wishes

by ::taylor-A-::, Jun 18, 2007 06:52PM
Are you sure she's not mistaking this 'thing' for her conshince?


I know i spelled it wrong :)

by Cleveland Mom, Jun 18, 2007 07:34PM
Thats a good point.  I would be concerned because it sounds as if this child talks to these voices, which indicates that she is being internally stimulated by auditory hallucinations.  Also, the comment about the deer tracks is illogical.  If mom were quite sure that this child merely had a very active imagination, she wouldn't be posting here.  This child should be seen by a mental health clinician.

by koukla29, Jun 19, 2007 12:08AM
I've worked with schizophrenic children.  They don't just say a phrase of "word salad" here and there.  They have bizzarre tendancies that are very difficult to dismiss as imagination and creativity.  In addition, the bizarre behavior is throughout - not periodic statements.  I haven't heard anything that would alarm me to auditory hallucinations.  

However, I do think you should take her to the pediatrician and get her checked out.  Never hurts. Best wishes  

by Cleveland Mom, Jun 19, 2007 12:12PM
I wasn't thinking of schizophrenia, specifically.  There are other psychiatric conditions where psychosis become present at one time or another.  Mom stated that there are voices in this little girls head and that they are annoying to her.  Believing that there are voices in one's head seems distinct and separate from one having a vivid and active imagination, to me.  As you point out koukla29, this child's behavior sounds organized much more organized than what one would expect in a child experiencing auditory hallucinations.  Its not at all clear whats going on.

by koukla29, Jun 19, 2007 02:50PM
To: Cleveland Mom
Well, you are right.  Quite honestly, it is not clear what exactly is going on with this little girl.  I think it is always best err on the side of caution and check out every possibility.  Mom should take her to a pediatrician and go from there.  I am confident her doctor can give referrals to the appropriate persons/agencies.  

by rhunter3sc, Jun 19, 2007 05:07PM
To: Shadetree66
My daughter went through something very similar at around the same age.  She had two seperate incidences.  Which we finally connected to a tramatic experience for her, first was me, going back to work full time when she was first starting school.  and then When I had to have emergency surgery and was hospitalized and we were in the midst of moving.  She would say that her head would tell her that people were fat or ugly and it would tell her to say bad words or think of bad words or bad things or wish bad things on people.  Thank god that stuff has stopped and she has grown out of it.  She is a very intelligent well rounded child  of  9 now.  We even did the psychiatric consult too.  And he said that she was fine.  

by Mocatan2000, Jul 30, 2007 06:07AM
To: shadetree66
I am a teacher of a preschool, one of my parents has a child that is going through the same thing your child is going through. I would like to know if you could please post what you did to help your child and the results. Her childs voices are now telling her she is not about anything and that she should kill herself. Has me very concerned. I love this child very much. I will be checking back often.

Thanks in advance

Concerned

by mj444, Aug 02, 2007 09:02PM
To: all
Have you ever thought that she may be clairaudient? That she hears things from the other side?  While I agree that she might need to be seen by her Dr., I think that you should maybe think outside of the box and consider something along the lines of psychic ability.  Although most people may be skeptics, I think this might be worth looking into, especially since there are many people/children who are locked up in mental wards just because they have psychic abilities that are not recognized by the medical community.

by tl001, Aug 20, 2007 02:50PM
To: all
I used to hear voices when I was little...sounded like conversations but when I listened closely I could never actually make out the words.  I never told anyone and eventually I outgrew it (or maybe learned to ignore it)

Yesterday my daughter asked me if your conscience can really talk to you, because she hears voices in her head...voices that sound like arguing but she can't quite make out what they are saying.

I have no idea what is going on...

by crying out 4 help, Aug 22, 2007 10:00PM
To: cassie
my lil bro dose that 2, but i dont think that theres any thing wrong maybe shes lonely, talk to her.

by mama24, Aug 30, 2007 10:44PM
To: all
My daughter who is five just told me three days ago that she hears a little voice in her head.  She said this little voice mostly repeats what she says and speaks nonsense.  I am extremely concerned.  I made an appointment with her pediatrician and hope he will shed some light.  She started kindergarten four days ago.  I think this is why she started hearing the little voice.  She used to have an imaginary friend when she was three years old.  I am open to all sorts of interpretation, but mostly I just want it to go away.  She says it does not bother her and yet she asked I keep it a secret and when she brings it up she quickly wants to stop talking about it.  I hope she is ok and not lonely.  

by LalaLalaLala, Aug 31, 2007 09:51AM
To: tl001
I also used to hear voices when I was little.  It would be a male voice and a female voice arguing - usually "yes" "no" - it was really annoying and used to give me headaches.  Always seemed to happen when I was alone - cleaning my room, reading, trying to sleep.

I sometimes also saw thick lines and thin lines rolling away from me and the voices would say "thick " "thin" or "rough" "smooth".  I was an imaginative child - and a lonely and sometimes unhappy child but these voices were real.

I grew out of it. Other than my conscience I now hear no voices. I still suffer from migraine with visual aura though and often wonder if it was connected.

I mentioned it to my older sister a couple of years ago and she said that she suffered something similar with the addition of a "little man dangling on a string".

The brain is a strange thing!

by April2, Aug 31, 2007 12:02PM
Did you guys also see this post in the doctor forum? Someone said hearing voices can be related to ocd. I had never heard that before. I find it very interesting.

A long time ago when I was a new Chrisian I began hearing "thoughts or voices" saying terrible things about God (seems silly now, I know but I was so scared!). It grieved me terribly because I loved God and wanted to please him. It also scared me because I thought I was going to go to hell! Let me tell you I was messed up for awhile. I went to a pastor and he told me it was demons and I needed to fight them. I wasn't sure if this was even more scary to believe that or that it was coming from me! I tried memorizing scriptures, etc. to drown out the voices, I prayed a lot. Finally, they subsided and I think I was just so exhausted at that point that I gave up and "gave it to God".

You're right, the brain is a mysterious thing. I'd like to check it out, though, and see if there really is a link to ocd and hearing voices. It's certainly something to think of.

by Eseva, Oct 06, 2007 05:18AM
My 7yr old son is telling me he sees monsters and that they come to him. They are not telling him to do anything bad. But I am worried never the less. When he was 5-6yrs old he told me my deceased father would come to him in his dreams and tell him nice things. I didn't think much of it then, since he never got to meet my father. I thought this was his imagination wanting to get to know him. What would you recommend? Anyone.I don't want to over react but I am fearful and am not sure how to handle the situation. I am just trying not to make him feel regretful in opening up to me and discussing what he sees.

by sintew, Jan 05, 2008 10:41PM