Suggest Treatment For Anxiety And Aggressive Behavior In Child

Posted on Thu, 27 Aug 2015

Question: My 10 year old daughter throws tantrums without warning. She screams at the top of her lungs. My local GP said there is nothing wrong with her yet tonight she attacked me after the kids ate dinner, my pinky fingernail she has ripped off and I am covered in scratch and bite marks. When I ask her if we can work through things together she will say "because XXXXXXX (4yr old brother) is an idiot and you (me) is an idiot". She doesn't have a male figure in the household, she has an active social life and attends extra curriculum activities (gymnastics, book club, Lego club), she is eating and drinking with no UTI, no weight loss/gain, normally happy, has always been shy, not clinically depressed, px seen by a child psychologist who says she has mild anxiety however she seems happy. I am lost, I really need help. Is there anything I can do?

Answered by Dr. Dr. Pradeep Kumar Jain (43 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Both child and parent directed treatment is needed

Detailed Answer:
Hello

Thanks for the query

I can understand your concern.

The symptoms you have mentioned are similar to those in Oppositional defiant behavior.But the abnormal behavior should persist at least for 6 months.
I would like to know if this behavior is causing impairment in social or academic functioning.
Here child often loses temper,argues with adults,refuses adult's requests,annoying behavior,often gets angry and blame others for her mistakes.

Here you have to develop a warm relationship with your daughter.Make some simple house rules for everyone and praise her for positive behavior,ignore her annoying behavior and negative reinforcement(loss of privileges) for her destructive behavior.
In positive reinforcement you can give her some award to promote her positive behavior.
Don't get too much harsh or demanding and on the other side also don't follow all her demands.
Try to understand and avoid the situations which leads to this abnormal behavior.
This is a slow process and you have to keep patience.Sometimes it wanes off as child gets older or when there is some change in surroundings.
I would suggest you to consult your child psychologist for better learning of behavior management skills.

All the best.
Regards

Note: For further queries related to your child health, Talk to a Pediatrician. Click here to Book a Consultation.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Vaishalee Punj