Mental issues are the common problem amongst infants. For instance a new mother may feel that her child in not bonding well with her, foster children may have difficulty settling into their new family and environment or a baby keeps crying all through the night. Whatever be the reasons, it clearly signifies that the child is suffering from mental health issues.

During their growing years, children need to be socially and emotionally bonded with their families. This helps them to develop attachments and trust in the world. Apart from this, it also makes the child feel secure and safe. The life development stage of an infant is the most crucial stage in their lives.

What are the reasons for Mental Issues in Infants?

A toddler or an infant may suffer from mental issues due to a lot of reasons. It is scientifically proven that a child’s emotional and social competence level depends in the relationships that they experience in the early years of their life.

Lack of Early Nurturance: One of the reasons for infants to develop mental health issues can be lack of nurturance. In this busy world, when both the parents are working, it is very difficult to spend time with the child. The child may feel left out and this can affect the functioning of the brain.

Mental Trauma: Any negative events occurring in a child’s life can hamper their psychological levels. Incidences like domestic violence, natural disasters, negligence, accidents etc can affect the social and emotional stability in infants. In their growing years, infants need to be nurtured with love and affection, rather than negligence.

Lack of Interpersonal Interaction: The first 4 years of a child is a crucial phase. It is here that they learn to trust and develop secure attachments with their parents. Sometimes parents become too much involved in their own emotional problems that they neglect the crucial stages of their child. This leads the child further away from his parents since he feels neglected and unloved.

How do you know an Infant is suffering from Mental Issues?

Like all diseases and disorders, the mental health of a person comes with certain symptoms. Toddlers who suffer from mental issues display some signs of discomfort or displeasures. Some of the symptoms are as follows:

• Lack of interaction amongst other children
• Tantrums and Aggression in later life
• Difficulty in communicating
• Being aloof all the time

How to Overcome Such Mental Issues in Infants?

Bringing infants out of their mental health problems requires a great deal of effort from the parents’ side. Cooperation from both the parents can help the child to get back his confidence and fight against this issue.

 The treatment to overcome these issues is as follows:

Interaction Guidance: This treatment helps in evaluating the relationship between the infants and their parents. The child and the parents will be made to do some activities together, so that the child can interact more with his parents. This will help to get the infant out of his shell and bond more efficiently.

Parent Infant Psychotherapy: In this treatment, the mother of the infant is questioned about her own relationship with her parents. By doing so, the therapist gets to know what is causing the emotional barrier between the child and his mother and how this can be overcome. When the mother gives more importance to her child, the child becomes more attached to her and can easily overcome his mental health issues.

Theraplay: This is a therapy directed at the infants and their parents. In this treatment the child is involved in a lot of fun filled activities with his parents so that he can develop his self esteem and improve upon his trust. This treatment is based upon the five natural qualities namely: Engagement, Structure, Challenge, Playfulness and Nurture.

Conclusion

Understanding the necessities of infants when they are growing up can help eliminate a lot of mental health disorders and issues. They will learn the meaning of trust and love and will be happy all the time. Love and affection are the two vital ingredients that will help in their life development.

Mental Issues in Infants is a post from: Mental Health