Suggest Treatment For Child Anxiety Disorder

Posted on Thu, 7 Jan 2016

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Thu, 7 Jan 2016 Answered on

Thu, 4 Feb 2016 Last reviewed on

Question : My son is 4 yrs old. Every time he goes to his Dads house, he takes every picture frame either on tables , or dressers, and he sets them face down. Some of the pictures are of him and his dad and others are other family members. Why do you think he does that?

Answered by Dr. Diptanshu Das (5 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Parental separation can be a source of great anxiety in kids

Detailed Answer:
Thanks for asking on HealthcareMagic.

I have gone through your query. However, more needs to be discussed in order to make out the cause. From your query it is apparent that you and your husband are separated. Parental separation is often a cause of great anxiety to childen. The relationship of your son with his father is very important. It is possible that he misses his father but has somehow developed coping mechanisms. It could happen that when he goes to his father's house, these compensatory mechachisms get messed up and when he sees himself and the others in the photos, he gets wishes that he knows cannot be fulfilled. It is probably in such a dismal situation that he does not wish to look further and hence sets the photoframes down so that he does not get reminded again.

Such childhood anxiety can often lead to improper development and I think that you should see a child psychologist and get a psychotherapy done. It helps to unravel facts buried deep inside and hence helps in dealing with the situation.

Regards

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar