7 year old son is paranoid

[felgen]

My son is usually a healthy, happy energetic boy.  He is a 7 and a half year old second grader.  He gets straight A's withuot too much effort, he is well liked, lots of friends, great at sports, the works.  He is also very competitive and very concerned with "doing the right thing."  He is also extremely sensitive.  If he sees someone with a disability he can think about it a year later and still get very sad.  So in spite of being this great kid, he sometimes seems like a "stress case" to me.  He is definitely an overachiever and can get upset if he feels he is not doing well at sports or school, when in reality he is doing great.  And although he respects authority at school and is a "model student" he definitely pushes his limits at home, but I would in no way say he is a tough kid to deal with other than his natural intensity.

Lately he has started confessing every little thing he has ever done bad.  There was nothing serious, but it was as if he needed to know he wasn't "bad."  Also, he had watched a "stranger danger" video, and ever since then he is extremely paranoid.  When we go to stores he will tell me 10 times that people are looking at him.  He thinks it's because of the starnger danger video, but I am unable to console him.  He even remarks when  babies look at him.  I am very concerned about his change of behavior.  This "paranoia" seems to have gone on for the past month and seems so extreme.  Other than that, he is a happy, typical, outgoing high energy 7 year old boy.  Any insight or suggestions would be appreciated.  Concerned mom.

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

Your description inducates that your son, overall, is doing vary well and is developing in sound fashion. The recent concerns can be a mainifestation of his usual temperament/personality - i.e., sensitive, capable, wanting things to be OK. He seems to take things in and remember them. What you are witnessing may not be a manifestation of any emotional disorder. But is well worth checking it out. Sometimes children who 'confess' their wrongdoings are manifesting a type of Obsessive-Compulsive disorder whereby they experience intrusive thoughts about their perceived misconduct and then confess such misconduct in order to alleviate their uneasiness or feelings of guilt. Sometimes they are very vigilany about monitoring themselves and can tend to project this scrutiny outside of themselves and appear to be paranoid. It's best to arrange an evaluation with a pediatric mental health professional such a child psychitrist or clinical psychologist.