Down in the Dumps

Dealing With Childhood Depression

By Ginny Hermann

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5

Provide your child with a safe adult to share his feelings with. Every child should have someone to go to for comfort and guidance, whether it's a parent, teacher, counselor or family friend.

Keep your child active. Sports and physical activities are good outlets for pent-up anger.

Use art as communication. Acting, painting, drawing, dancing and other creative arts offer excellent opportunities to get feelings out and express grief.

Read books. Many parents use bibliotherapy – the process of reading books to help a child identify with others – as a way to put the child in another's place. Epstein suggests The Dinosaur Series by Laurie Krasney Brown and similar books to help prepare for or deal with an unsettling event or situation.

Above all, be honest with your child. "Trust is the key to helping children get through a rough patch," says Epstein. "Children are excellent perceivers of environment. Whatever we withhold from our children in the name of protection, they will supplant with fantasies that are usually 10 times worse than what is really happening. If a child is old enough to ask a question, she is old enough to get an honest answer."

By being honest, parents are telling their children that they are worthy of the truth and are important enough to be trusted, thus sending the message that the parent is trustworthy as well. When a parent and child suffer a loss together, as in the Moores' case, the family bond grows tighter. "Cry with your children," says Epstein. "Let your children see you cry. Model for them, and show them that it's OK to feel bad sometimes."

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5

SAH Mom	Working Mom
SAH Dad	Working Dad
Adoptive Parent	Grandparent
Parent of Twins	Special Needs Parent

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Down in the Dumps

Dealing With Childhood Depression

By Ginny Hermann

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