Should I Worry?

My daughter just turned three in December. I don't want to jump to any conclusions, but I also want to make sure I am making the best decisions for my child.

My main concern is she just seems unhappy quite often, irritated, easily frustrated, she screams a lot, gets angry at the drop of the hat. Yet on the other hand she can be extremely loving and sweet.

I take the time to talk things out with her and try to find out why she acting out or why she might be sad, angry, etc. I don't know if she is just "being three" and this is just a phase or if this is just her personality or if there is another cause.

I was diagnosed with ADD/ADHD when I was a young child, but she doesn't seem to have some of the classic symptoms (short attention span, fidgety, etc). This seems to have been going on for quite some time and I think have tried to explain her behavior as oh, she's just tired, or didn't eat enough lunch, she didn't have a good nap, etc.


How do you know if your child needs assistance? Thank you for your time.

Michele

Hi Michele
I believe you can never be too careful, and I applaud you for facing the difficult fact that something might not be right. I think parent often have intuition when it comes to their child, and that you can’t ignore that.

I make this recommendation frequently, but it’s a valuable one, I think and can’t really do any harm. Take your child to see a play therapist, and see what they say! You can find one here http://www.a4pt.org/ under directories and then “ find play therapists.”

Good Luck
Kristen