Which Mental Illnesses are Most Common in Children? I was shocked to learn that twenty percent of Amercian

I was shocked to learn that twenty percent of Amercian children suffer from mental illness according to the U.S. Surgeon general. This should make us, as parents, more aware of what the illnesses are that can affect young minds so that we can prevent them from growing up into troubled addicts.

Children are prone to suffering from anxiety orders. This causes them to respond to certain fears and situations with a great deal of dread. If your child is nervous, sweating and suffering from a rapid heartbeat in certain situations it may not be because he or she is being defiant. There may be a real phobia triggering the anxious reactions behind it that require treatment by a psychiatrist.

Kids with pervasive disorders have trouble understanding the world around them. They are not stupid kids. They simply perceive the world differently than everyone else. Kids like these might also suffer from learning or communication disorders; this is very common and keeps your kid from finding a great job as an adult or going on to higher education.

Teens with eating disorders are a great concern. Do not ignore this one! If you have a daughter who eats and then throws up to keep her weight down or one who is stick thin, get her to therapy immediately. This type of behavior is very self-destructive and also lingers into adult-hood. Teens with these disorders may also have trouble eliminating or urinating. They may develop phobias around eating because they do not want to make any waste.

Disruptive behavioral disorders, such as defiance disorder (where the child is very rebellious) can be a real problem and affect your child's chances of staying in school. Defiant kids are often angry kids that go down the wrong path in life so be sure to get you kid help if he does exactly the opposite of what all of the elders tell him to do in life. Remember too, that as you take this kind of child to treatment, that is not a bad or evil kid, he simply suffers from a compulsion to defy anything that he feels might control him.

The Pampered Child Syndrome

Lately, I have become quite interested in this book by Dr. Maggie Mamen called The Pampered Child Syndrome which is all about that one kid that takes over your entire family's priority. In fact these kids can take over everything including family harmony, financial considerations, respect for others and even common sense. In fact the other day I was in a restaurant just because of such a brat. I was just sitting down to a wonderful meal with my friend, who was a new mother in forties when suddenly her darling new child started bawling. She looked at me, and said, 'I'm sorry. We can't have this dinner. Little Delilah June wants to go!' The other lady I was with looked at her in shock and said, 'But we just got here…the child does not control how long we stay here for dinner.' The mother, a slightly insecure hysterical type kept talking about how we all had to do what Delilah wanted or Delilah would hate her. She had no idea that she should control the situation and seemed afraid of losing the approval of a two year old child.

This type of syndrome where innocent little kids push you around and cause havoc in everyone's lives is called Pampered Child syndrome. Don't think this can't be a problem because this same woman let her child take control of her entire social life for the next few years to the extent that she never got to date anyone and she lost all of her friends because she could never leave the kid with a babysitter. At age five little Delilah June was still nursing because even though she had sharp teeth, her mother did not have a strong enough will to tell her that it was time to stop.

If you do have this type of problem or know someone then Dr. Maggie Manen's The Pampered Child Syndrome: How to Recognize It and How to Avoid It might help. She has also written other books about boundaries, tough love about raising kids including Who's In Charge?, Laughter and Love and Limits.

It's a good thing to take away power from a little kid who has too much power. For one thing, children know it is wrong for them to have authority and power that they are ill equipped to handle. As they grow older they become control freaks and develop serious social and psychological difficulties.