Shy Boy, Thinks He's Worthless… :(

Updated on May 29, 2014
M.F. asks from Bighill, KY
5 answers

Hi! My son, C. , who's 6 yrs and a half, is continuously going through different unfortunate stages.. Since he was little, coping with him was very difficult, he was always living in his own little world, not paying attention to me/the others unless he wanted something from us. I took him to different psychologists, all of them told me it's not autism, he is somehow hurt; they all tried to find out the story of my life/ his life (I've been a single mother until a year ago; we then moved in with the father, and they're not getting along that well either) and see how that influenced C.
By the time he was almost 3, things seemed to get normal, we got along pretty well. But that was for a very short period of time because soon after, his brother was born and he got back to where he was…
He's going to school now and he doesn't like it, he had to leave his friends from kindergarden and has homework to do now, things got pretty serious in school and with all the responsibilities at school and all and the new classmates, he feels very lonely, he's continuously asking for a pet, "to have some company", he sais; he's sometimes very sad, sometimes aggressive, lacks self-confidence… Walks with his head down, not paying attention to the cars in the street, he just doesn't care about himself! He sais nobody wants to be friends with him and because he's a slow writer, but otherwise a brilliant mind, his classmates make fun of him and call him "stupid" :( And he often sais he whished he had the brains of his classmates.
His only interests are computer games and reading books, and I'm trying to limit the first one as much as I can, but those are really his own excitements. He's currently seing a psychologist, but I don't see any progress so far… How can I help him?

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So What Happened?

Thank you all for your answers and your support. I will get him a pet, even if that means he would only see it on weekends (his father doesn't stand the idea of a cat/dog/birdie in the appartment, so I'm gonna ask my mom to keep it at hers). In addition to that, I will take him to aikido classes, hopefully he's gonna like that.
Unfortunately, here in my country (somewhere in Europe) we're not allowed to home-educate our kids, unless they suffer from some serious illness and that makes it impossible for them to be in school/ endangers other students. Otherwise, parents are forced by law to bring their kids in schools. Unless it wouldn't bother them to spare between $ 31.000 and 150.000 on some fine…
Moreover, I couldn't afford not working… But hey, thanks to you, I feel a bit better and more confident in whatever the future will bring us!

More Answers

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B..

answers from Dallas on

Hang in there, Mom. If he is seeing a psychologist, then that's the mental health professional and they ought to tell you ways to help him. Sometimes it's a slow process. If its depression, figure several months. If its deeper, even more.

We all have our struggles and when we have kids, their struggles affect us greatly. It sounds like you are very tuned in to him, as you should be, so for his sake and yours, concentrate on building your family. That will be of most help to your son and you. You can't make your whole life and your family's life, be contingent on this one's mood.

Invest in fun things. Spend time with him and the family in low cost ways, everyday. Let the housekeeping go, play a game, make supper a picnic, turn off the TV and computer. A strong family life can be the link to healing he needs. It will go a long way to help everyone in the family to maintain their own level of sanity. A pet could be a good thing for this. Remember, most of the care will fall to the adults. Sometimes it's worth the work to provide that unconditional love that a great pet can provide. Feeding and careing for it can give him a sense of competence.

I know of several kids who had childhood mental health problems that turned around in time and they are very successful human beings. Maybe look for a support group in your area. I've belonged to a prayer group for years that gives me hope and feedback. Look for support everywhere.
May God light the Way.

3 moms found this helpful
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M.J.

answers from Sacramento on

Kids that age can have clinical depression. It's not out of the question. In addition to continuing to see a psychologist, it might be helpful to have an assessment done by a psychiatrist.

2 moms found this helpful
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E.B.

answers from Beaumont on

So sorry. I know this breaks your heart! I would definitely get him a pet. Nothing like unconditional love to heal your heart. Also, find ways to help him succeed. One of our boys lacked confidence until 5th grade when he just "blossomed". I think it was a combination of a great youth group at church, discovering a love of science and meeting a child in the neighborhood that was younger that needed a friend as much as he did. Hang in there. Summer is a great time to develop his interests and spend time with that new pet. Wishing you all good things...

2 moms found this helpful
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R.M.

answers from San Francisco on

There has to be some kind of group he can join to meet with similar kids or find a friend. If it were me, I would keep trying him in different groups/activities until I found a good fit. There are zillions of boys who like computer games, so he should find plenty of company there.

The other thing is what kind of school does he go to? You might want to check out an alternative charter school that caters to "different" kids, if there is one in your area.

I think a pet would be a good idea, as well as spending time with him, as suggested below. But he does need to find peers he can relate to, and they are out there.

1 mom found this helpful
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D.T.

answers from Muncie on

Homeschooling. I really think this may be good for him. You said he loves to read, he can learn anything and everything he wants and needs from the right books. Get a library membership, find a local homeschooling group and go for it. Teach him what he needs and take as long as he needs to learn it. Let him explore his interests as they come and go. Find books on computer programming, on video game design. Look for educational computer games.

Find a Mom Group in your area, see if you can't find him some friends outside of the class room. Some thing "play" oriented and not "school".

Pets also come in all shaped and sizes. You don't need to get him a HUGE dog, a hamster could work just fine. Ask him what he would like, let him know he's responsible for it's care and feeding. Make him a reminder chart according to what you get. Ask the pet store/shelter a lot of questions. Care, feeding and life span is good to know right away.

Good luck!

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