Nervous child - this is not a diagnosis, but a characteristic of a child with a psycho-emotional disorder as a neurosis. It can manifest with tearfulness, touchiness, sharp mood swings, poor appetite, sensitive sleep, poor concentration of attention. In young children, anxiety can be accompanied by poor digestion of food, which is often manifested by regurgitation. At the age of 1-4 years manifestations of neurosis in children can be expressed in picking the navel, in childish onanism, in nervous scratching, etc.
In order to balance the child's mental state, it is necessary to eliminate the cause of such nervous behavior.
Causes of nervous excitability in children
Some children are already born "anxious", then the doctors talk about congenital neuropathy. This happens if one of the parents possessed similar features in early childhood. Newborns have an immature nervous system that completes its basic development by the year. In a number of cases, "ripening" occurs without any help from outside, by itself. However, in some situations, especially in cases of complicated pregnancy (infections, gestosis, bad habits of the mother), the development of brain structures and nerve conduction may be hampered by the harm caused to the child's nervous system during pregnancy. In this case, there is a risk of nerve diseases in children and regular monitoring is required for a neurologist and a psychiatrist.
If a normally calm child suddenly became nervous, then, most likely, we are talking about the development of a neurosis on the basis of acquired infections or psychological discomfort (fear, stress, conflict).
A nervous breakdown in a child
Children can experience breakdown in cases when nervous tension accumulated for a long time, and hides behind the fear of the baby expressing their emotions (for example, if the child has witnessed several conflicts in the relationship of the parents). Along with this, the child's nervous breakdown is possible as an immediate reaction to the emerging psychotraumatic situation (not the coincidence of expectations with reality, the death of a loved one, a sharp excommunication from the chest, leaving in danger, etc.).
Externally, the nervous breakdown is expressed by hysterical sobs, the excitability of the child, the demands to do as he wishes. How in a breakdown situation to calm a nervous child? Most often, the method of switching attention is triggered (unexpectedly invite the child to look through an interesting book, draw his attention to what is happening in the window "Look, what car went", etc.). At such moments, it is important for parents themselves to be calm and benevolent.
How to treat a nervous child?
In the treatment of the nervous system in children, B vitamins are usually prescribed, as they normalize nervous activity and contribute to improving nerve conduction. But basically the restoration of mental balance in the child is due to the creation of a favorable psychological atmosphere in the family. In the treatment of a nervous child, much depends on the situation in the family, the relationships between its members. It is important for parents not to abuse their child, not to load their studies, but to rest. It is necessary to maintain friendly contact with the baby.
But what if the child is very nervous, and the failures occur often enough? Usually in this case, doctors suggest supporting the nervous system with psychotropic drugs (such as phenibut). They will help to remove the nervous tension in the acute period.