Common Behavioral Health Issues in Children: An Overview

If your child is acting out, it could just be a sign of your child showing independence, which is a normal behavioral milestone. As a parent, you need to know if your child might have a behavioral health issue that needs to be treated. Your pediatrician can help. The pediatricians at Johns Creek Pediatrics provide comprehensive medical services for children, including behavioral assessment and treatment. They have two convenient office locations in Suwanee and Cumming, GA.

What You Need To Know About Common Behavioral Health Issues in Children

First, let’s look at some normal behavioral milestones children achieve as they grow and develop:

• Defiance, which is a sign of independence and testing boundaries
• Withdrawal, which is a sign of your child wanting autonomy and independence
• Acting out, which may be your child’s reaction to major changes in life, including moving, family separation or divorce, or issues at school

Anxiety and depression are two common behavioral health issues in children. Your pediatrician can screen for these conditions. You should consider visiting your pediatrician if you notice that your child is:

• Becoming anxious about school, relationships, and activities
• Having frequent episodes of depression or feelings of unhappiness
• Purposefully damaging or destroying items belonging to others
• Exhibiting hostile feelings toward others, especially authority figures
• Threatening other children, pets, or adults
• Threatening or harming himself or herself or you
• Stealing, smoking, doing drugs, or unlawful behavior
• Doing badly in school or not attending school

Attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, is another common behavioral health issue that often goes undiagnosed. ADHD can also be identified and treated by a pediatrician. You should consider visiting a pediatrician for ADHD screening and treatment if your child is:

• Frequently forgetting or losing things
• Excessively talking or squirming around
• Frequently daydreaming or not paying attention

To treat behavioral health issues, your pediatrician may recommend a combination of treatments, including:

• Individual counseling
• Group counseling
• Family Counseling
• Medication

Want To Know More About Common Behavioral Health Issues in Children?

To find out more about the signs and treatment of behavioral health issues and how your pediatrician can help, call the pediatricians at Johns Creek Pediatrics, with offices in Suwanee and Cumming, GA. You can reach them in either office by calling (770) 814-1160, so call today.