Teen Depression and Suicide

Depression is a low mood that usually involves anger, sadness and being hopeless. It’s very common especially in adolescence period. Depression among teens should be taken seriously as depression grows with time and if not well treated depression among teens leads to suicide. Suicide cases among teens are mostly as a result of extreme depression.

depression among teens has many effects which are all dangerous. The effects are also an indication of depression in teens. These effects and or symptoms are as follows:

 1.Drug abuse

Drugs are usually seen as substances that make someone forget something bad, in our case depression. Most teenagers first result into drug abuse to reduce depression as they are told by their peers. Alcohol is usually the first drug they turn to due to it availability. Others smoke bhang and cigarettes. In states where hard drugs are available the teen goes for them. These drugs always worsen the situation. They lead the teens to violentactivities such as theft and fights.

 2.Withdrawal

A teenager who is experiencing depression usually tends to keep to him or herself. They do not involve themselves in social activities. They only communicate with specific people and the chat is very little. Whenever they have a problem they are not willing to find help from other people. You will find such a teenager always indoors in the room without interacting with other teenagers.

3.Hopelessness

Teenagers undergoing depression tend to find that they are not worth being in existence. Nothing they do that they can find it worth. You will find such a teenager saying he has no future dreams and cannot gain anything from life. This is a very low self-esteem. Such a teenager will feel unwanted in the society and kind of rejected. Anything that such a teenager does will think it will be rejected. The teen will feel like there is s much over him that he or she can’t manage to handle at all.

4.Extreme anger

A teen experiencing depression is usually high tempered. Any negative remark on him or her gets the teen very angry. This is a major cause of fighting among teens.

5.Violence

This is usually as a result of anger and drug abuse by a teen experiencing depression. The teen can also be very sober but can do very violent stuff. The teen can be involved in planning and even financing for a school strikes. In extreme cases the teen can resort into arson especially of school property. You will find such a teenager being involved in reckless activities such as unsafe sex with multiple partners. The teen may even cause cuts and burns to him or her.

6.Poor eating and sleeping habits

You will find a teenager undergoing a depression change his or her eating behavior. He may also lack sleep.

7.Running away

There have been many cases of teenagers running away from home or school. Some may return and others never return forever. You will often find announcements on the media about parents and learning institution looking for lost teens. Some parents may think it was a kidnap but it may be that the teen was suffering from depression.

8.Reduced participation in activities

Such a teen will always miss out in activities such as sports and going out. This is a major symptom of depression among teens.

9.Poor school performance

Depression among teens makes them loose concentration in class due to lots of thinking, hopelessness, drug abuse and lack of paying attention on homework. The teen may also miss to attend some lessons or drop out of school completely.

10.Suicide

This is usually the most devastating effect of depression among teens since life is lost. Such a teen will talk of being not worth on the earth. This is the last thing that the teenager chooses if the depression is not detected and treated early enough.

With noting the above symptoms of depression among teens, you can be able to find a solution to help your teen out of the depression. This includes:

Talking calmly to your depressed teen is a good and an effective way. Let him feel free to tell you whatever he needs and provide it.

You should provide the teen with antidepressants under guidance of a doctor since they may come with side effects

One should help the teen undergo therapy such as acupuncture and psychotherapy.

If the guardian of a teen undergoing depression takes the necessary steps and be observant on the teen’s behavior at home and school then you will be of great help to the teen.

Usefull 8Tips to Help Your Child Fall Asleep

You are sleep-deprived and tired with your daily work schedule, but your child just refuses to go to sleep. What should you do? Read on to learn a few tricks that can help you make your child sleep well all through the night.

If you have a small kid you must be well aware of the problems you have to face at night when you want to take rest and sleep well. Getting your child adjusted to a bedtime routine is also a very difficult task, but is one that you need to accomplish as soon as possible. After all, the benefits of good sleep are many. There are some tricks that you can try to make your child fall asleep thereby allowing you to get proper rest and sleep.

Help your Child fall Asleep with the following 8 Tips:

Follow a bedtime routine – You can start this right from the time your child is few months old. The sooner you start making him sleep at a fixed time, the sooner he will get into the routine. You can do this by making him follow a strict pre-bed routine: brush his teeth, change clothes, read out a story to him and then close your eyes and fall asleep.

Create a peaceful environment – When you want your child to sleep, you have to pay attention to the environment also. If you create an environment which is calm and quiet, it will ease your child and help him sleep well and soon. You can give your child his favourite stuffed toy to sleep with.

Involve your child- When you engage your child in the preparation of bedtime, he is less likely to create a fuss when you actually put him to bed. Let your child choose his own night clothes or pyjStick to the routine – Children may not follow what you teach them, but they will follow everything you do. Therefore, it is very important to stick to the rules and routine yourself.

Lessen the time of afternoon nap – If your child takes an afternoon nap, make sure it is not late and the time period is also according to the age of your child. Make it a routine to help your child have some physical activity in the evening so that he gets tired and sleeps well.

Avoid singing or rocking your baby to sleep – Let your child sleep in bed, instead of a rocker and do not rock him or sing a song to him as a routine to go to sleep. This will be annoying if your child wakes up in the middle of the night.

Let your child pick the story – If your child likes to hear a story before sleeping, you can give him the leverage of picking up the story he wants to be read out to him that night. Also, if you fix the number of stories that are to be read at bedtime and follow it rigorously, your child will also understand.

Put your child to sleep before he gets overly tired – Although it is good for the child to get tired so that he sleeps well, make sure you start the bedtime process early before your child shows signs of weariness, as that will make him cranky and disinclined to listen to you.

If your child had problems in falling asleep even after doing all you can, he may be suffering from some sleep disorder. It is best to consult your doctor at the earliest if you suspect anything is wrong. Since children are different, finding a good sleeping routine can be frustrating. But once you find what comforts your child, you will never be deprived of a good night’s sleep again and both you and your child will have apt rest and sound sleep

How to Stop Thumb Sucking

Does your child still suck her thumb? While this habit usually goes as your child grows older, it's best to nip it in the bud.   

You needn't worry too much about thumb sucking as most children do kick the habit before the age of 5. But if your child is past the age of 6 and still shows no sign of reducing her thumb sucking, there may be a slight cause for concern. This this will almost definitely have an effect on her permanent teeth, so if you manage to get her to stop much before this age, there's nothing like it. In fact, some schools of thought are of the opinion that thumb sucking should be stopped as early as possible. 

You should consult your dentist, and let your dentist have a word with your child. 

A person's teeth - and facial features for that matter - develop the most when the person is between the ages of 4 and 14. Dental structures start getting formed from the age of 5, as this is when the permanent teeth slowly start appearing. Now if your child is still sucking her thumb, she is interfering with the natural growth of her teeth. 

An Overbite

Your child is almost certain to develop an overbite, which is when the upper row of teeth juts out over the lower layer of teeth. She may even develop Bugs Bunny teeth, where her front two teeth jut out prominently.  

Lisp

A poor alignment of teeth will almost certainly lead to some speech disorders, and could lead to a lisp. Even if she has braces later on in life, the habit of lisping might never go. 

To test the extent of damage caused by thumb sucking, a dental group studied around 400 babies in Iowa, United Stated, until the age of four.  

The researchers regularly questioned the parents about their children's thumb sucking habits. After the age of four, models were made of the children's teeth. 

Needless to say, the teeth of those kids who stopped sucking their thumb before they turned one, were in pretty good shape. Damage to the teeth increased amongst approximately 6% of the kids who stopped sucking their thumb by the age of 2. Crossbite and overbite were more prevalent by 13 percent amongst those kids who stopped thumb sucking between the ages of 2 and 3, and this figure increased to 20 percent, in the group of kids who were still sucking their thumbs. 

While most of this damage is caused to the child's baby teeth, there is a chance that it will affect the permanent teeth as well - especially if the child continues sucking her thumb after the age of six. 

Thus, this is one habit which is best nipped in the bud. Thumb Sucking