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Is my 6 year old son being paranoid? Is his behavior normal?
Hi, my son is 6 and a half years old and is overall a very bright and sociable kid. Last week, while watching the news, he heard about the story where a passenger on an airflight found a needle in their sandwich (and almost died...).Since that day, we've noticed a huge change in his behavior...particularly while eating. He's usually a good eater, but he has now suddenly become totally obsessed with his food (especially sandwiches) concerned that there might be a needle in it. The first time this happened, my husband and I just thought that he was being sensitive, but in the last few days, his behavior hasn't improved much (although we gave him every rational explanation we could think of on this topic) He keeps stroking his neck like he thinks he swallowed a needle and seems pretty preoccupied with whats on his plate at every meal time. He even mentioned that he didn't want to D-I-E...(He spelled the word "die".) I told him that we might go see a Dr. if this behavior continued and he hold me that the Dr. could perhaps take an x-ray of his throat to make sure that there is indeed no needle stuck in there....(!!!) My mother said that we should'nt make a big deal out of this and ignore him and that he'll soon forget about it, but I just want to be sure on how we should deal with this. Is my child being paranoid? Could this be an even bigger problem that accidently got triggered?? :(
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That's great, just what I said!! That's super that you got reassurance from your doc. That will help to convince your son that there is nothing to worry about.
Hello again,
So we went to see the Dr. last night and the Dr. told us not to worry too much about it and said that in some time it would surely pass... She also said that she did not think that it was a mental health problem because @ 6 years old, you obviously do not rationalize the same way an adult would.
My son seemed totally relieved...but when we went for ice-cream right after...I saw him give his ice-cream cone to his little brother. :s (...he has never given his ice-cream to his brother!) :( We'll see how this story will unfold.)
So we went to see the Dr. last night and the Dr. told us not to worry too much about it and said that in some time it would surely pass... She also said that she did not think that it was a mental health problem because @ 6 years old, you obviously do not rationalize the same way an adult would.
My son seemed totally relieved...but when we went for ice-cream right after...I saw him give his ice-cream cone to his little brother. :s (...he has never given his ice-cream to his brother!) :( We'll see how this story will unfold.)
Sounds great, hon. Getting guidance from your doctor is never a bad idea. Let us know how he's doing! I've gone through some crazy stuff with my son too. They get something in their heads, and sometimes it takes a while to get it OUT of their heads, little buggers!
Best of luck!!
Best of luck!!
Thanks so much for your answer... I sure hope you're right... We definitely won't be exposing him to such information anymore. :( We didn't want to take a chance and booked him a Dr.'s apptmnt. tonight...We'll see how that goes.
I have mental health problems and they are nothing to be ashamed of. I think you should take him to a Doctor before it escalates into a more serious problem.
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I think that the best approach is to not give these thoughts an extraordinary amount of attention. When you see him looking at his food, or making comments about the "needle" in his throat, speak factually. Tell him that this kind of thing just doesn't happen to people. The story on the news was as rare as finding a dinosaur (or relate it to something that would make him understand "rare") in the yard. Tell him that you promise he will not have a needle in his food, then let it go. Try not to bring it up again, and do not feed into it if he brings it up. Try to change the suibject if he continues the same behavior.
This fear should resolve itself in some time, it may take a few weeks, as obviously, he's pretty upset about it. If you don't notice any improvements, then you would want to take him to the pediatrician. As a doctor, SHE may be able to alleviate his fears. Kids put doctors and poilce, etc on a pedestal, so reassurance coming from the pediatrician may do it. If it still persists, his doc will be able to offer suggestions.
Lastly, you HAVE to remain vigilant that your son doesn't get exposed to scary things on TV, especially the news of all things. The news these days is so graphic, definitely not appropriate for a child of that age to be watching. As he gets a little older, you can start to expose him to things like that, in a controlled environment, with Mom and Dad present to answer any questions.
I hope he starts feeling better soon, they are just soaking up the world at that age! :0)
Best of luck!!