3 year old is acting depressed?

Question

My 3 year old has 'meltdowns' and says she doesn't love us ( the parents, brother, granny, etc ) and doesn't want to be with us etc etc.

Today, she refused to come out of the car and claimed she wanted to be away from everyone forever. Says she doesn't want to be part of this family. She wants to play by herself all the time.

What really got me was when she said she wanted to live by herself. This is a THREE year old! I can't imagine that she's picking this up from television. Granny keeps her and her brother 5 days a week and I know she's not a bad influence.

Now, after an hour or two of dealing with that, she's just fine....Is this normal? Should we, the parents, be concerned? Should we force her to be sociable when she gets this way? Should we just leave her alone and let her cry it all out?

I don't want to do anything to push my little girl away but I don't want to NOT do anything and let her think she can act like this.

Any suggestions are welcome :D

Answer 1

This seems to be her only way to get her emotions out. Kids this young have a hard time expressing themselves. Make sure you are patient, and be understanding. Make sure she knows that you care about her. And try to give her words that explain how she feels, let her talk with you. But don't push her to do anything she doesn't want to do....this might make it worse. Good luck, this can be a hard age

Answer 2

Gentle guidance, I suggest that you use a few tried and true behavior modification tactics to get the tantrums under control so that you can talk to her at a neutral time. If you're sure that she hasn't just picked up a few phrases or actions to get her way then she is smarter than average. Children at this age learn how to manipulate very quickly, esp. children of higher than average intelligence or those who have very devoted parents. A kid whose parents pay here little attention would not do this because it wouldn't elicit a response. Now your job is to KNOW when she is manipulating and just not respond. Give her extra attention when she uses methods of expressing her feelings that you teach her are appropriate. And remember, manipulation in a three year old is normal, the degree in which she experiences it is based on her intellegence and your response, she has no way of knowing it is wrong, so just correct the behavior. If she has gone through a recent stress, such as a major change in routine or a move, then talk to her and work with her on expressing her feelings appropriately. A therapist is not a bad idea, they pretty much just give you a hand teaching her how to express herself. ADD and ADHD are not usually diagnosed at this age, and I personally feel, after having worked and lived with kids supposed to have these disorders that they are massively over diagnosed and rarely require medication. Some kids are just smart, energetic and outgoing to the point of frustration, they need a little more attention and structure thats all. Good luck, my daughter is 2 1/2 and has been going through something similar regarding her sister, and its just a phase.

Answer 3

Gee for sure this newborn will be depressed, he has no clue what is going on as we talk, basically questioning why his dad isn't there. that's an similar with divorce, and if no longer dealt with wisely may reason existence lengthy issues...Why might want to you assume him to chuckle, he's too youthful to comprehend any of this... As an man or woman we can chuckle at a funeral alongside with the tears as we've the form of enormous volume of concepts yet no longer a three 3 hundred and sixty 5 days old. that's been the form of couple of minutes i'd not hardship about some thing yet.. enable him have his time for now..

Answer 4

Hello,
Sounds like your three year old is very intelligent! ADD and ADHD kids are highly intelligent.

I also have a child that is autistic, Aspergers syndrome the doctors call it.

This boy deals with seizures as well so when he was three and did not want to talk to us, he always played by himself I just thought is was the epilepsy. He still plays very much of the time on his own. He also does things different from others.

If this is a always type behavior you should seek someone, doctor, councilor. If this is just a faze she is going through well, she will grow out of it. As for what she is saying it sounds to me as if someone around her said this, either a TV show, a stranger in a store, or at the park another kid said this or somewhere?

You want this to be a passing faze.....but if it is not I wish you well!

Answer 5

The Monte Williams show today was on kids like this.I believe they said you can go to his web for info. They disassociate themselves from family and sometimes they will get violent as they get a couple of years older. There were many diagnosises made for these kids.Some were bi-polar, ADHD,and lots of stuff. Many of them are diagnosed as HDHD by their family dr. without any tests. They need to be tested thoroughly to find the right problem and get the right treatment or medication if needed. Some had bi-polar and they said it was partly inherited. I don't want to scare you with this but since she is very young you will want to have her thouroughly examined so you can get her the best help possible before it gets worse-IF that is the problem. Some were also said to have conduct disorder. They were in special schools because the public school couldn't handle them. These kids didn't remember doing any of the bad things because they sort of black out while in the worst behavior. I wish you the best and don't put this off! It is easy to say if she doesn't get better and then it is 6 mo past and she is still doing it. Help her by acting on any developement that is off beat in any way.I have taught kids with all kinds of problems and have a grandson with problems so I know how you feel and I know you want the best for her.

Answer 6

Don't force her per say but talk to her, don't ignore the situation either. Tell her that you love her. Her actions are not normal and she could be a little jealous of her sibling, children that age usually wants all the attention to themselves. If she refuses to do what is told then that's a problem with the parenting, she needs to know that you are the boss and what you say goes. If she refuses to do things at the age of 3 it will only worsen in the future. But yeah talk to her and console her.

Answer 7

First I would suggest seeking a doctor's advice. Few children that age really suffer from chemical imbalances, but some can.

If physically he is fine....then try really talking to her about the why. You may find there is a reason...Such as..."Scared of something in his/her room/ needing more sleep/ or is having bad dreams. My three year old went through the same thing. They are experiencing new things, and challenges everyday. It must be confusing.

I will be praying for you. Hang in there.

Answer 8

It may be typical for a three-year-old to act upset. Some kids just start a fit because they don't want to do something, or they are upset at someone. If it gets worse, then I think that you should contact your pediatrican.

Answer 9

3 year olds are too young to understand and they dont mean that or anything they just say that they hate you. and as for her saying she wants to live on her own----she is begining to grow up and she wants to do things on her own.

Answer 10

I think it's probably normal, but talk to your peditrician just to see what he/she thinks.