What Are Obsessive Behaviors in Children?

Although obsession may sound strange, it can start at a very young age. Obsession in children, also called obsessive compulsive disorder, can be completely erased from the child’s life with early diagnosis. Let’s see what are the obsessive behaviors that can be seen in children, what are the symptoms of obsession in children?

At what age can the obsession appear in children?

Obsession in children can be seen especially between the ages of 6-12. There may be some obsessive behaviors before this age. However, my son or daughter is very obsessed.

What are the causes of obsession in children?

Obsession, also called obsessive-compulsive behavior, is a psychological problem. It is thought that the child’s obsession is mainly due to the behaviors and directions of the family. Obsessive behaviors in children;

• The family’s behavior towards the child
• Strange behaviors that the family instills in the child,
• Different parenting styles
• Different forms of cultivation
• genetic causes,
• Some infections,
• Some traumatic events can cause obsessions.

What are the symptoms of obsession in children?

In your child;

• Constantly asking questions about a certain subject,
• Repeating the same behavior
• Performing some movements such as ritual,
• to be very organized,
• Being a perfectionist
• To set rules constantly and not to deviate from these rules,
• If you sense behaviors such as classifying people and things, you may think your child has an obsessive disorder.

What are the most common obsessive behaviors in children?

Order and cleanliness: Obsession with cleanliness is one of the most common obsessions in children.

• Continuous dusting
• Hand washing,
• don’t get in the shower,
• Do not cover the place where you lie or sit,
• Carrying disinfectant products with you,
• Behaviors such as being disgusted by the places that they do not clean themselves indicate an obsession with cleaning. In such situations, the child feels very uncomfortable and sometimes even falls into a hysterical state.

In such cases, wounds may occur on the body due to constant hand washing and contact with detergent.

Contagion obsession: In this type of obsession, there is a fear of getting sick and germs through shaking hands and contact. Obsessive children need to wash their hands immediately in such contact situations. This handwashing continues until you think it has been cleaned and can sometimes become a ritual. Behaviors such as washing hands 3 times, soaping 4 times, repeating some words while washing hands may also accompany.

Harm obsession: Children with this obsession think that anyone can harm them and they start to isolate themselves from life. Anyone he meets on the street, his friends making jokes at school, his teachers, and even his mother, who sometimes has a knife while cooking at home, is a danger for this child. On the contrary, there may be an incentive to harm. In such cases, the child starts to move away from his environment because he thinks that he will harm someone else.

Symmetry obsession: This is one of the most common obsessions. In such an obsession, the child constantly tries to ensure that the objects, drawings, paintings, and pens on the table are in a symmetry.

Ritual behaviors:

• Doing some things repetitively,
• Repeating some of the same sentences over and over,
• Touching some objects, objects,
• Exhibiting the same awkward movements before starting a job,
• Some states are 3, 4, 5; Controlling with whatever he has set up in his mind and many similar repetitive situations are examples of ritual behaviors.

How should obsessive children behave?

First of all, if you feel that your child is just at the beginning of his obsessions, you can take some precautions if you are just starting to see them.

• You have to admit that your child has a problem.
• When your child begins to engage in repetitive behaviors, you can try to engage him in another attention-grabbing situation.
• You have to control your own behavior. If there are subjects that you are obsessed with without realizing and your child is imitating them, you should file your own behavior. You know, children imitate their parents.
• Psychological support is absolutely necessary in cases where it cannot be resolved and progressed. Regular treatment with the help of medication and therapy helps to eliminate the obsession in children.