early childhood nervousness(neuropathy, congenital nervousness, constitutional nervousness, neuropathic constitution, endogenous nervousness, nervous diathesis, etc.) is the most common form of neuropsychiatric disorders in young children, which is manifested by severe autonomic dysfunction, emotional and behavioral disorders. In a pediatric neurological clinic, the term “early childhood nervousness” is usually used, psychiatrists often write about neuropathy. This condition is not a specific disease in the true sense, but is only a background that predisposes to the subsequent emergence of neuroses and neurosis-like states, psychoses, and pathological development of the personality.

Causes of early childhood nervousness. In the occurrence of early childhood nervousness, decisive importance is attached to heredity and organic damage to the brain in the early stages of its development (before childbirth, during childbirth and in the first months of life). The role of constitutional and genetic factors is confirmed by family history data. In many cases, one or both parents were highly excitable, and in the pedigree there are often individuals with severe emotional disorders, anxious and suspicious character traits. Of no less importance are residual-organic cerebral disorders, in which brain damage occurs mainly before and during childbirth. This is indicated by the high frequency of the pathological course of pregnancy in the mother - genital and extragenital diseases, especially of the cardiovascular system, gestosis of pregnancy, threatening miscarriage, fetal presentation, primary and secondary weakness of labor, premature birth, fetal asphyxia, birth traumatic brain injury etc.

The cause of organic brain damage can also be various infections, intoxication, hypoxic conditions in the first months of postnatal ontogenesis.

Mechanisms of development of early childhood nervousness. The mechanism of occurrence of early childhood nervousness should be considered from the standpoint of the age-related evolution of the brain in the postpartum period. As you know, at certain periods of life, etiological factors can cause similar changes in the nervous system and mental sphere. This is due to the predominant functioning of certain nervous structures that provide the body's responses and its adaptation to the environment. During the first 3 years of life, the greatest load falls on the autonomic nervous system, since the regulation of autonomic functions (nutrition, growth, etc.) is formed earlier than the regulation of motor skills. In this regard, V. V. Kovalev (1969, 1973) identifies four age levels of neuropsychic response in children and adolescents: somatovegetative (from birth to 3 years), psychomotor (4-10 years), affective (7-12 years) and emotional-but-ideational (12-16 years old). At the somatovegetative level of response, various pathological processes affecting the body mainly lead to polymorphic autonomic disorders.

Classification of early childhood nervousness. In accordance with the results of studies by domestic and foreign authors, the following three clinical and etiological types of neuropathy syndromes (early childhood nervousness) are distinguished: true or constitutional neuropathy syndrome, organic neuropathy syndrome and neuropathy syndrome of mixed genesis (constitutional-encephalopathic). G. E. Sukhareva (1955), depending on the predominance of inhibition or affective excitability in the behavior of children, distinguishes two clinical variants of neuropathy: asthenic, characterized by shyness, timidity of children, increased impressionability, and excitable, in which affective excitability, irritability, and motor disinhibition predominate.

Clinical manifestations of early childhood nervousness. Early childhood nervousness is characterized by pronounced autonomic dysfunction, increased excitability and, often, rapid exhaustion of the nervous system. These disorders in the form of various combinations are especially clearly manifested during the first 2 years of life, and then gradually level out or turn into other borderline neuropsychiatric disorders.

When examining such children, the general appearance of the child attracts attention: pronounced pallor of the skin with a cyanotic tinge can quickly be replaced by hyperemia, already in the second half of life, in some cases, there may be fainting-like states when the body position changes from horizontal to vertical. Pupils are usually dilated, their size and reaction to light may be uneven. Sometimes within 1-2 months there is a spontaneous narrowing or dilation of the pupil. The pulse is usually labile and unstable, breathing is irregular.

Especially characteristic are increased excitability, general anxiety and sleep disturbance. Such children almost constantly scream and cry. It is difficult for parents to determine the cause of a child's anxiety. At first, he can calm down during feeding, but soon this does not bring the desired relief. It is worth picking him up while crying and shaking him, as he will demand this in the future with an insistent cry. Such children do not want to be alone, they require increased attention with their constant cry. In almost all cases, sleep is sharply disturbed: its formula is perverted - drowsiness during the day, frequent awakenings or insomnia at night. At the slightest rustle, a short-term dream is suddenly interrupted. Often, even in absolute silence, the child wakes up with a sudden cry. In the future, this can turn into nightmares and night terrors, which can be differentiated only at the 2-3rd year of life.

Short-term rapid startling in a dream occurs early. Such conditions, as a rule, have nothing to do with generalized and focal seizures, and the appointment of anticonvulsants does not lead to a decrease in the frequency of twitches. Also characteristic is the presence of general shudders in the waking state, which usually occur under the influence of even minor stimuli, and sometimes spontaneously. Already by the end of the first - in the second year of life, they sit, sway before going to bed, are overly mobile, do not find a place for themselves, suck their fingers, bite their nails, itch, hit their heads on the bed. It seems that the child deliberately injures himself in order to scream even more and show anxiety.

Digestive disorders are an early sign of neuropathy. Its first manifestation is the refusal of the breast. The cause of this condition is difficult to establish. Perhaps, due to autonomic dysfunction in a child, coordinated activity of the gastrointestinal tract does not immediately occur. Such children, just starting to suck at the breast, become restless, scream, cry. It is possible that the cause of this condition is temporary pylorospasm, intestinal spasms and other disorders. Shortly after feeding, regurgitation, vomiting, rather frequent intestinal disorders in the form of increased or decreased peristalsis, bloating, diarrhea or constipation, which may alternate, may appear.

Especially great difficulties arise with the start of complementary feeding of an infant. He often selectively reacts to various nutrient mixtures, refuses to eat. In a number of cases, only an attempt to feed, including breastfeeding, or one type of food causes a sharply negative behavioral state in him. Loss of appetite gradually increases. The transition to coarser food also causes a number of negative changes. This is primarily a violation of the act of chewing. Such children chew slowly, reluctantly, or refuse to eat solid foods altogether. In some cases, phenomena of disintegration of the chewing-swallowing act may occur, when he cannot swallow slowly chewed food and spits out of his mouth. Eating disorders and loss of appetite can turn into anorexia, which is accompanied by trophic changes.

Such children are very sensitive to weather changes, which contributes to the intensification of vegetative disorders. They do not tolerate childhood infections and, in general, various colds. In response to an increase in body temperature, they often experience generalized convulsive seizures, general arousal, and delirium. In some cases, the increase in body temperature is non-infectious in nature and is accompanied by an increase in somato-vegetative and neurological disorders.

When observing children suffering from early childhood nervousness, a decrease in the threshold of sensitivity to various exogenous and endogenous influences is revealed. In particular, they painfully react to indifferent stimuli (light, sound, tactile influences, wet diapers, changes in body position, etc.). Especially negative reaction to injections, routine examinations and manipulations. All this is quickly fixed, and in the future only the sight of a similar situation is accompanied by pronounced fear. For example, such children who have been given injections are very restless during examinations by a doctor and any medical staff (fear of white coats). Constantly there is an increased instinct of self-preservation. It expresses itself in the fear of novelty. In response to a slight change in the external situation, capriciousness and tearfulness sharply increase. Such children are very attached to the house, to their mother, they constantly follow her, they are afraid to stay alone in the room even for a short time, react negatively to the arrival of strangers, do not come into contact with them, behave timidly and shyly.

Some clinical differences have also been established depending on the form of early childhood nervousness. So, with the syndrome of true neuropathy, vegetative and psychopathological disorders usually begin to appear not immediately after birth, but at the 3-4th month of life. This is due to the fact that a violation of autonomic regulation begins to manifest itself only with more active interaction with the environment - a manifestation of emotional reactions of a social nature. In such cases, sleep disturbances come first, although digestive tract disorders, as well as various deviations in the emotional-volitional sphere, are quite clearly represented. The general psychomotor development of such children, as a rule, is normal, and may even go ahead of average age norms; the child can quite early hold the head, sit, walk, often begins at the age of up to a year.

The syndrome of organic neuropathy, as a rule, manifests itself from the first days of life. Even in the maternity hospital, such a child develops increased neuroreflex excitability and signs of a slight organic lesion of the nervous system are revealed. They are characterized by variability in muscle tone, which can periodically be either slightly increased or reduced (muscular dystonia). As a rule, spontaneous muscle activity is increased.

In such children, the personality component of the neuropathic syndrome is less pronounced than in the syndrome of true (constitutional) neuropathy, and cerebrosthenic disorders come first. Emotional and personality disorders in patients of this group are poorly differentiated, the inertness of mental processes is determined.

With the syndrome of organic neuropathy, there may be a slight delay in the pace of psychomotor development, in most cases, 2-3 months later than their peers, they begin to stand and walk independently, there may be a general underdevelopment of speech, usually mild.

The syndrome of neuropathy of mixed genesis occupies a middle position between the two forms above. It is characterized by the presence of both constitutional and mild organic neurological disorders. At the same time, in the first year of life, the clinical manifestations of this pathology are more dependent on encephalopathic disorders, while in subsequent years it approaches the manifestations of the syndrome of true neuropathy. The general psychomotor development of such children in most cases is normal, although it may be somewhat slow, but very rarely accelerated.

Diagnostics. The diagnosis of early childhood nervousness and its various clinical variants is not particularly difficult. It is based on the early onset (first days or months of life) of characteristic symptoms, the appearance of which in most cases is not associated with somatic and neurological diseases in the postpartum period. In the case of autonomic dysfunction, emotional and behavioral disorders after suffering exogenous diseases, there is a clear causal relationship between these conditions. In addition, in such cases, there is often a delay in psychomotor development of varying severity, which is not characteristic of the syndrome of true neuropathy.

Various autonomic and behavioral disorders can occur in children, even in the first months of life, after psycho-traumatic effects (usually with a sudden change in the external environment). The analysis of cause-and-effect relationships also plays a significant role here.

Current and forecast. With an increase in the age of the child, the clinical manifestations of neuropathy change, which to a certain extent depends on the form of this pathology. Only in isolated cases, by the preschool period of life, all neuropsychiatric disorders disappear and the child becomes practically healthy. He often has various vegetative-vascular disorders and emotional-behavioral changes, disturbances in the motor sphere, and specific forms of neuroses (including pathological habits of childhood) or neurosis-like states are gradually formed. With long-term preservation of the clinical manifestations of neuropathy, a background is created for the formation of psychopathy.

In children with true neuropathy syndrome, vegetative disorders in most cases regress, and mental deviations come to the fore in the form of increased affective excitability combined with exhaustion, emotional instability, fearfulness, and a tendency to undifferentiated fears. Against this background, under the influence of acute or chronic psycho-traumatic conflict situations, systemic or general neuroses often occurred in the form of tics, stuttering, enuresis, encopresis, etc.

In patients with organic neuropathy at the age of 4 years, vegetative-vascular disorders, a syndrome of motor disinhibition (hyperactivity) and neurosis-like states of a monosymptomatic nature are predominantly observed. According to our data, the transformation of vegetative-vascular disorders into a more pronounced syndrome of vegetative dystonia is very characteristic. So, in the third year of life, vegetative paroxysms often occur during sleep (night terrors and nightmares) or in the waking state (for example, fainting). By the end of preschool age, such children often complained of pain in the region of the heart, abdomen, and from time to time they had respiratory problems. Gradually, by middle school age, vegetative dystonia develops with the presence of permanent (more often) or paroxysmal disorders.

In earlier periods, a syndrome of motor disinhibition (hyperactivity) occurs, which becomes noticeable already in the second year of life. It is manifested by unbridled behavior, emotional lability, instability of attention, frequent switching to other activities, lack of focus, inertia and rapid exhaustion of mental processes.

Monosymptomatic disorders against the background of organic neuropathy are similar in external manifestations to those in true neuropathy (enuresis, encopresis, tics, stuttering), but the mechanism of their occurrence is different. In this case, the main role is played not by psycho-traumatic factors, but by somatic diseases. True neuroses in these children are relatively rare.

With a mixed neuropathy syndrome, affective respiratory seizures and various types of protest reactions often appear. Such children are highly excitable, egocentric, they show pathological obstinacy and capriciousness in achieving their desires. It is also noted that they do not have a correspondence between poorly represented organic neurological disorders and well-defined neuropathic disorders.

Treatment. In the treatment of early childhood nervousness, regardless of its clinical forms, the organization of the correct regimen and upbringing of the child is of paramount importance. This primarily concerns feeding and sleeping, which should be carried out at the same time. However, due to severe anxiety and autonomic disorders, the child often leaves a certain regimen. Therefore, one should, if possible, identify the various points that cause anxiety and crying, and try to eliminate them. If, after feeding, the child has frequent regurgitation, vomiting, and gradually develops an aversion to food, then you should not force-feed him. This will only exacerbate unwanted manifestations. In such cases, you should feed less often so that there is a feeling of hunger. It is also necessary to avoid overexciting children, especially at bedtime. Attitude towards the child should be calm, demanding - according to age. Excessive stimuli, including an abundance of toys, the desire to give him maximum positive emotions only exacerbate neuropathic disorders. When, with age, fears arise, constant attachment to only one family member (more often to the mother), one should not frighten him, forcibly push him away from himself, but it is better to cultivate courage, resilience, gradually accustom him to independence and overcoming difficulties.

Drug treatment is prescribed if necessary by a doctor, includes general tonic and sedatives, including Noofen. You should widely use water procedures (baths, swimming, showers, wiping), classes with adults in hygienic gymnastics.

Neuropathy in children is characterized by increased excitability, excessively rapid exhaustion, impaired appetite and digestion, sleep disorders, the development of tics and stuttering, and the appearance of various allergic reactions. Very often, such similar symptoms are experienced by children with mental retardation or the so-called mental retardation. But comparing these 2 different diagnoses is unacceptable.

To date, in medicine, the term neuropathy refers to a number of specific mental disorders that are inherent in early childhood. Neuropathic children are active, curious, overly emotional, and have a sharp mood swing. It is very difficult for them to calm down and keep themselves under control.

Hearing the diagnosis - neuropathy or congenital childhood nervousness, parents have many questions, the answers to which we will try to give in this article.

The main causes of the disease

According to doctors, one of the main reasons for the development of such an ailment is the unfavorable course of pregnancy:

  • stress;
  • some chronic diseases;
  • excessively strong toxicosis;
  • birth asphyxia.

In the first months of your baby's life, you should carefully monitor the course of diseases, how the baby tolerates them (dyspeptic disorders, infections).

The child is actively developing, and the nervous system is experiencing a huge load. There may be a slight organic lesion of some areas of the brain.

Injuries, infections, and even vitamin deficiencies can also be the cause.

Neuropathy in children: symptoms

  • Congenital childhood nervousness manifests itself most often from the first days of life. The baby is restless, does not sleep, takes the breast reluctantly, shudders at the slightest noise. Crying and screaming for no reason. In the future, frequent regurgitation, constipation or diarrhea are possible.
  • After 2 years, it is very difficult for kids to focus on one thing, they are not diligent, they quickly get tired.
  • Signs of neuropathy can be headaches, asthma attacks, fainting, and sharp fluctuations in blood pressure.

Symptom specialists distinguish two groups of patients:

  1. Children have unstable emotions, increased excitability, affective outbursts, followed by severe fatigue.
  2. Patients of the other group have increased exhaustion, depression, hysterical attacks. It is difficult for them to adapt to changes in life, they are not self-confident.

Subsequently, children's nervousness turns into other neuropsychiatric disorders.

Types and forms of the disease

Doctors distinguish types of neuropathy:

  • Peripheral. This type of disease is caused by a violation of the peripheral nervous system. It affects the nerve endings that are in the limbs of a person.
  • Cranial. Causes disruption of one of the 12 pairs of cranial nerve endings. As a result, vision or hearing may be impaired.
  • Autonomous. It affects the autonomic nervous system. It is responsible for the functioning of the heart, digestion and other important functions of the body.
  • Local. This type of ailment can damage only one or a group of nerves in a particular area of ​​the body. Symptoms appear suddenly.

Possible complications and consequences

It very rarely happens that by the age of 6-7 the child disappears all neuropsychiatric disorders.

But in most cases, the symptoms only worsen (vegetative-vascular disorders, motor disorders occur, childhood neurosis develops) and a background is created for the formation of psychopathy.

At the age of two, hyperkinetic syndrome may already appear, that is, children become hyperactive, but not purposeful. Mental processes regress.

In the future, night terrors and nightmares often occur, and breathing disorders periodically occur. There may be complaints of pain in the heart, abdomen.

As a complication, paroxysmal disorders are manifested. Patients suffer from emotional instability, fearfulness, enuresis and encopresis.

Diagnostic measures

In case of manifestation of several, even at first glance, unclear symptoms that may resemble neuropathy, you should immediately consult a doctor (pediatric neurologist).

After examining the appearance of the child, you need to undergo a standard examination:

  • a general blood test that will determine the ESR (in other words, the erythrocyte sedimentation rate);
  • advanced urinalysis;
  • chest x-ray;
  • measure plasma glucose levels after meals;
  • do electrophoresis of serum proteins.

Depending on the results, the doctor prescribes further examination tactics. Conduct electromyography, measure the speed of the patient's nerve impulse and take a biopsy of the nerve fiber.

How is the treatment carried out

Treatment of neuropathy is carried out as a complex of medical and pedagogical actions. Measures are taken to control the symptoms of the disease and fight the root cause of the disease.

Medications are prescribed only by a doctor. It can be:

  • restorative means;
  • and so-called sedatives.

In a short course, a solution of sodium bromide 1% (200 mg) and caffeine-sodium benzoate 0.05 g, 1 teaspoon three times a day, are prescribed. Enemas with sodium sulfate are used in preschool age.

Teenagers, under the supervision of a doctor, are treated with light tranquilizers. These can be Librium (from 10 to 30 mg per day), as well as Seduxen (from 5 to 20 mg), Aminazine (no more than 100 mg per day). But most often it is advised not to resort to drugs, especially at an early age.

  • taking vitamins;
  • water procedures;
  • gymnastics;
  • massage;
  • and complete rest to allow nerve cells to recover.

Do I need rehabilitation after treatment?

A child after treatment of a pathology of the nervous system needs home rehabilitation. But parents should understand that severe damage to the nerve fiber in childhood, unfortunately, cannot be restored.

When undergoing a rehabilitation course, it is very important that children pay special attention to physical exercises, temper themselves, and often stay in the fresh air. Be sure to follow unquestioningly all the recommendations of the attending doctor. Consult with a child psychologist, pediatrician.

Means and methods for the prevention of neuropathy

Prevention of neuropathy is, first of all, to ensure normal conditions for pregnancy.

And after the birth of a child, pay special attention to a balanced diet, educational and hygienic measures, and rationally organize the employment and rest of the child.

Parent experience

According to the statistics of forums where the topic of neuropathy in children was discussed, parents nevertheless coped with disorders in children.

It is known that in addition to drug treatment, they used other measures. They tried to surround the child with care and affection, performed therapeutic massages, enrolled children in the pool or took them to the sea.

doctor advises

It is important to recognize signs of neuropathy in a child in a timely manner and contact a medical center. Try to ensure that your child grows and develops in an atmosphere of love and calmness, adheres to a constant regimen and avoids high emotional/physical stress.

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The nervous system plays a decisive role in the functioning of the human body and performs many functions. Even a slight disruption in its work can lead to the development of serious neurological diseases. The occurrence of such pathologies in children, unfortunately, is quite common, and neuropathy is not the last among them.

Childhood neuropathy is a congenital or acquired anomaly in the development of the central nervous system. The occurrence of childhood neuropathy is accompanied by symptoms such as:

  • increased excitability;
  • lack of appetite;
  • indigestion and sleep;
  • frequent manifestations of various kinds of allergic reactions;
  • in some cases, phenomena such as a nervous tic and stuttering can be observed.

Neuropathy, depending on the number of affected nerves, is divided into:

  • mononeuropathy - damage to one or more single nerves, which can develop in parallel or sequentially;
  • polyneuropathy - the pathological process covers multiple nerve formations, in particular, spinal and cranial nerve trunks. Lesions develop simultaneously.

To date, there are 4 levels of neuropsychic response (formulated by V.V. Kovalev):

A special place is occupied by auditory neuropathy (hearing impairment, in which there is a distorted transmission of sound to the brain). With this type of neuropathy, a child often has a delay in speech development.

Auditory neuropathy has been recently identified, but it has already been established that one of the main causes of its occurrence in most cases is a genetic factor (heredity).

In order for the treatment to be prescribed in a timely manner, it is very important to know for what reasons this pathology can occur and how exactly it proceeds (what symptoms it may be accompanied by).

Causes and symptoms

The main causes of pathology in a child are:

  • infectious lesions (neuropathy, which occurs as a result of the pathological effects of infections on the body, including intrauterine);
  • injuries (neuropathy that occurs as a result of an injury);
  • diabetes;
  • compression-ischemic neuropathy (occurs as a result of compression of the nerve fiber in the area of ​​the bone canal).

Diabetic neuropathy

The cause of the development of this pathology can also be an unfavorable (complicated or severe) course of the mother's pregnancy, accompanied by such phenomena as:

  • stress and depression;
  • birth asphyxia;
  • severe toxicosis;
  • chronic diseases.

Symptoms of neuropathy depend on its type, age, causes and other factors, but the overall clinical picture is as follows:


Depending on the symptoms that occur, experts also distinguish 2 main groups of patients:

  1. Children with an unstable psyche, manifestations of increased excitability (nervousness) and affective outbursts, followed by severe fatigue.
  2. Weakened children, which is manifested by a depressed state and hysterical attacks.

Neurological diseases cause many inconveniences to children and parents. Therefore, if such violations are observed, it is necessary to seek help from specialists.

Diagnosis and treatment

To detect neuropathy (setting an accurate diagnosis), you will need a set of diagnostic measures:


Therapy regimen

The treatment strategy is determined by the attending physician. Most often, with neuropathy, therapy is carried out, which also includes a complex of medical and pedagogical actions. Treatment with drugs takes place with the appointment of the following medications:


For a child diagnosed with neuropathy, physiotherapeutic measures are also useful: gymnastics, massage and water procedures (water baths, swimming, contrast showers and subaqueous massage).

Alternative therapies are rarely prescribed for the treatment of neuropathy in children. But sometimes teas from a variety of medicinal herbs that have a sedative effect can be recommended for use. Can be applied:

  • Linden;
  • mint;
  • motherwort;
  • Melissa;
  • St. John's wort;
  • chamomile;
  • oregano.

Alternative medicine should be used for its intended purpose and under the strict supervision of the attending physician, as it can not only not have a therapeutic effect, but also harm (this is especially true for the treatment of pediatric patients).

Normalization of the psychological state of the child with neuropathy plays almost a dominant role, so it is very important how parents will cope with the manifestations of this pathology. A few rules for parents:

  • communicate with the child calmly and with restraint (do not go over to shouting);
  • do not pull with constant reproaches, remarks and prohibitions (children with this neurological disorder are extremely impressionable);
  • do not constantly give in and indulge (tantrums are often just a way of manipulation);
  • show love without going to extremes;
  • do not encourage the child with sweets (children with neuropathy often suffer from allergies and digestive disorders).

Prevention

With timely treatment of neuropathy, the prognosis is favorable. In the absence of adequate treatment and the correct psychological impact on the child, later parents may face many problems: egocentrism, irascibility, hysteria, exorbitant demands, etc.

Preventive measures are:


If the baby has this pathology, parents should be patient, since the treatment of this disease is a rather long and exhausting process. It is important to understand that the capriciousness of the child in this case is not a sign of spoilage, but a serious health problem.

Yakutina Svetlana

OInsulte.ru project expert

The term "children's nervousness" is very broad. It means both painful conditions, and more or less pronounced non-pathological changes in character, and simply deviations in the behavior of children.

We will talk about children's nervousness in the medical sense, meaning painful, pathological processes - neuroses.

Neuroses are a large group of diseases (neurasthenia, hysteria, obsessive compulsive disorder, neurotic depression), which usually manifest as pronounced disorders, primarily in the higher nervous activity. The manifestations of neurosis are diverse. Some children are overly excitable, unrestrained, easily give outbursts of anger, irritation, fear. They are capricious and demanding, fussy and restless, sometimes they talk a lot, gesticulate, make faces. Others, on the contrary, are lethargic, lethargic, withdrawn, sleep poorly at night and sleepy during the day. Such children are shy and indecisive, timid and shy, keep aloof, aloof from noisy peer groups, and are distinguished by heightened impressionability.

It is necessary to make a reservation. After reading this list of symptoms, a suspicious person will find them in his child and suspect the presence of some kind of disease. Don't try to diagnose yourself! This can only be done by an experienced doctor. The purpose of the article is only to alert parents and educators so that, if necessary, they consult with a specialist in a timely manner.

The causes of childhood anxiety are manifold. Here are gross mistakes in education, and constant violations of the rules of hygiene and child care, and various diseases that weaken the nervous system (infectious diseases, skull injuries, accidental poisoning, etc.). fear and constant conflicts in the family.

A fairly common morbid condition in children is neurasthenia (exhaustion neurosis, "irritable weakness"). Sick children complain of heaviness in the head, of a feeling as if a hat is constantly put on it. They periodically experience headaches, dizziness, increased heart rate, irritability. These children are depressed, melancholy, easily and quickly get tired, fall asleep badly, their appetite sharply decreases.

Neurasthenia is a completely curable disease. However, its symptoms are more persistent compared to ordinary overwork. A tired child can also be capricious, irritable, but in a healthy child, all these phenomena disappear after a short rest, after switching to some other activity. For a child suffering from neurasthenia, a short rest does not improve the condition. It comes only after a long rest, following the correct daily routine.

Neurasthenia, like all neuroses, is caused by the causes mentioned above. However, an excessive load on the child's psyche plays a special role.

Indeed, we often create overloads for our children, make obviously excessive demands on them, forcing them to do a lot, in addition to the things that need to be done in kindergarten. This includes dancing, figure skating, swimming, etc. In each individual case, it is necessary to sensibly assess the real capabilities of the child, soberly weigh his abilities, take into account inclinations and interests, talk with a doctor about his health, and in the future carefully monitor for his well-being in the process of training.

Also, the most common disorganization can lead to neurasthenia. If a child lives without any regime, sits for hours at the TV or computer, does not have lunch on time and does not go to bed on time, he can also become neurotic.

Impressive and somewhat timid children sometimes suffer from a special form of neurotic reaction - obsessive fears. Most of these fears are situational. Food for them can be provided by a television movie seen exclusively for adults, some kind of book designed for a different age, real events of the surrounding life, stories of adults, as well as computer games.

You can’t scare children. On the contrary, you need to try to actively protect them from various frightening situations. But many parents resort to intimidation as a pedagogical measure.

What should parents do if a child develops certain signs of neurosis? In this case, consultation with a neuropsychiatrist is mandatory. After an appropriate examination, the specialist will give the necessary advice, explain what kind of approach to the child is needed, suggest the correct tactics of behavior in relation to him, and if necessary, prescribe treatment.

Parents should constantly remember about various measures aimed at preventing children's nervousness: about the child's strict adherence to a certain regimen, about proper nutrition, about instilling elementary hygiene skills in him from an early age.

Compliance with a strict daily routine contributes to the economical and more productive expenditure of the child's nervous energy and, therefore, plays an important role in maintaining health. Strict mode produces an internal physiological rhythm. A child, accustomed to having dinner at the same time, will eat with great appetite, and having got used to going to bed at the same time, he will instantly fall asleep.

A huge role in preventing children's nervousness is played by the entire microclimate of the family. In those families where they can courageously and calmly endure difficulties and hardships, where an even mood reigns, and all family members treat each other with respect, children develop both physically and mentally much better. Parents should not forget that their attitude towards children should always be consistent and firm. When raising a child, one must strive to ensure that punishments are the exception rather than the rule. And if you punish the baby for some kind of misconduct, you need to explain to him why it is impossible to do this. And, perhaps, it will turn out to be more effective on punishment, and encouragement. Encouragement in the case when your child refrained from this or that misconduct, encouragement if he did a good deed.

Many parents mistakenly believe that the firmness of the line in the upbringing of children is achieved, after all, by nothing else, but only by punishments. We assure these parents that the point here is not at all in punishments, but in the firmness of demands, in a calm tone, patience, in the absence of haste. The wrong approach to the child, raising the voice, any rash action of the parents, which has the character of violence, sharply excites the psyche of the baby and contributes to the development of nervousness.

Excessive affection, as well as excessive severity in relation to children, can lead to the development of character traits that will subsequently contribute to the development of neurosis. Spoiled, "hothouse" situation in the family gives rise to egoism in the child's soul, indulges intemperance of emotions and inclinations. But if a child is constantly pulled up, constantly told about his shortcomings, suppressed his initiative and demanded unquestioning obedience from him, he will develop features of uncertainty, timidity, indecision, he will become passive, which also predisposes to the development of neurosis.

It is desirable from the very beginning to put upbringing so that the child will never have reasons for the manifestation of irritability, irascibility. It is important in the baby to develop calmness, endurance, the ability to control their actions and desires. A person accustomed from childhood to behave calmly, find a common language with other children, becoming an adult, reveals more restrained behavior in conditions that contribute to a certain lack of self-discipline, in the future there is a lack of ability to restrain oneself.

This does not mean that the child should be completely protected from all kinds of external stimuli. Just something else is important. The child needs to be helped to learn how to calmly respond to all sorts of traumatic moments, develop resistance to conflict situations, instill the ability to draw a good life lesson from everything, and draw the right conclusions.

There is a special type of development of the child's nervous system, which is called neuropathy. Experts say that a significant role in the occurrence of neuropathy is assigned to the unfavorable course of pregnancy. This includes nervous shocks experienced by the mother of the child, chronic diseases, especially endocrine, toxicosis, birth asphyxia. You should also take into account the child's illnesses that accompany him during the first months of life. For example, it can be dyspeptic disorders, some infections. Given the cause of the violation, constitutional or congenital neuropathy is distinguished, there is also neuropathy, which is caused by a violation of the interaction between mother and child.

In particular, neuropathy is possible due to organic damage to the brain, including complicated and combined forms of neuropathy. In children, neuropathy can be detected even in the very first days. The newborn is restless, wakes up at the slightest noise, falls asleep with difficulty and shudders in sleep. Also, the baby can stay up all night and lie quietly, while his eyes are open. Such a baby is reluctant to take the mother's breast, and if he starts to suck, he is constantly distracted. In a later period, constipation, diarrhea, vomiting, and frequent regurgitation begin. The baby begins to cry and scream as if for no apparent reason. At the same time, pathological habits arise quite easily. Toddler child begins to suck fingers, irritate the genitals, rub the leg against the leg.

Even having reached the age of one, the child still falls asleep very badly, remains capricious in food, can refuse to write for a long time, skipping feeding time. Since the appetite is poor, he does not want to chew, such children are able to hold food in their cheeks for hours, because they do not want to swallow it. With neuropathy in children, stool is often disturbed, which leads to malnutrition. Children with neuropathy are hyperexcitable. If they are irritated, they turn red, there is a spasm of the larynx. Protesting, the child falls to the floor. Quite often, these babies have problems in the form of stuttering, tics, they are endowed with general motor anxiety.

Signs of childhood neuropathy

Toddlers suffering from neuropathy are hardly able to focus on something specific, any new impression immediately distracts them from what they were doing at the moment, and it is difficult for them to do assiduous work. Such children have rapid fatigue, the exhaustion of the nervous system leads to the fact that they begin to avoid the noisy society of other children. On the basis of this, an impression of isolation arises, which does not correspond to reality. Children with neuropathy most often have an asthenic physique. In addition, they have a tendency to allergies, asthmatic attacks often occur. Sometimes such children complain of dizziness, headaches, they experience fainting. This happens in the presence of negative stimuli. For example, fear, stuffiness in the room, the sight of blood.

Often, children with neuropathy suffer from a drop in blood pressure, its sharp fluctuations. There is a classification according to which there are two types of children with neuropathy. This is a group having increased excitability and another group having increased exhaustion. For the first, pronounced motor restlessness, changeable mood, affective outbursts, which are replaced by severe fatigue, are typical. Children belonging to the second group have difficulty adapting to various changes in their lives, they easily fall into a state of depression, as they are not confident in themselves. Hysterical attacks in such children may occur on the basis that even ordinary stimuli are perceived by them as excessive.

Children with neuropathy have mostly normal psychomotor development, and in some cases it is even accelerated when compared with their peers. Of particular importance in neuropathy is the proper upbringing of the baby. At the age of infancy and early childhood, parents should take care to protect the child from the influence of stronger environmental stimuli. It will be wrong if parents start to rush the development of the child with stories or reading that are not appropriate for his age. In this case, on the contrary, you should limit your child's visits to spectacles, and you should not allow him to sit at the TV for a long time and watch all the programs. Excessive demands on a baby with neuropathy are unacceptable, active inhibition skills should be developed slowly, without haste.

Parenting children with neuropathy

When raising children with neuropathy, special attention is paid to gymnastic exercises, hardening, outdoor sports. To get specific answers to questions of upbringing, as well as to learn how to care for neuropathic babies, parents should consult with a child psychologist, psychoneurologist, and pediatrician. Having learned from the doctor that the child has neuropathy, parents show great concern, and first of all the question arises whether it is necessary to treat neuropathy, or will this pathological condition go away on its own after a certain time? It should be emphasized that it is unacceptable to compare neuropathy with mental retardation, and even more so with mental retardation.

Treatment, if necessary, can only be prescribed by a doctor. It is important to know that children with neuropathy often have paradoxical reactions to many drugs, and sedatives are often stimulating. Clinical practice has proven that most of these disorders disappear as they grow older, but for this the child must be created optimal conditions. It is necessary to create an atmosphere of calm and goodwill, to provide the child with a routine, to protect him from excessive stress.

There are two types of psychogenics:
1. Psychoreactive states - disruptions in the functioning of the cerebral cortex due to overstrain of irritable and inhibitory processes. They develop in response to severe emotional stress associated with the direct action of a psychogenic "hit" that causes shock, fear, anxiety, disappointment, resentment, anger, depression and longing. They flow through the ancient mechanisms of "motor storm" or "imaginary death", accompanied by a temporary regression of the psyche. Predisposing factors are psychopathic character traits, somatic diseases, infections, intoxication, beriberi, traumatic brain injury, autonomic dystonia, prolonged insomnia. Distinctive criteria: the determining role of the psychotraumatic factor in the occurrence, picture and course of the disease state; psychologically understandable connection between the traumatic situation and the content of the reaction; fundamental reversibility of the disorder.
2. Neuroses - violations of integration in the mental sphere, functional disorganization of the personality. They arise as a result of contradictions in especially significant life relationships. The decisive role in the clinical picture is played by the internal conflict (the clash of positions of consciousness and unconscious attitudes, the struggle of social attitudes and temperament, the opposition of claims and unconscious self-esteem), which generates anxiety, pessimism, emotional instability and contrast of behavior, sharpening the instinct of self-preservation to the degree of painful egocentrism and fear.

Types of neurotic conflicts:
neurotic conflict: subjective claims (“I can”, “I want”) and social requirements (“I must”) against subconscious self-esteem (“I can’t”, “I won’t succeed”); the problem of being among others.
Hysterical conflict: egoistic desire (“I want” or “I don’t want”) against social demands (“it’s impossible” or “it’s necessary”) and assessments (“shameful”, “ugly”); the problem of "being yourself among others" with an emphasis on "being yourself".
Obsessive-psychasthenic conflict: subjective (“I want” or “should”) versus subjective (“indecent” or “dangerous” and therefore “don’t”); the problem of being yourself.
Phobic Conflict: subjective (“I want”) and social (“must”) versus the subconscious (“dangerous” and “scary”); the problem of "to be". With neurasthenia, the child experiences a feeling of rejection of himself, distrust of his abilities and capabilities, which gives rise to indecision, depression, helplessness and isolation. Adaptation to the requirements of reality is dominated by attitudes: “I am weak and can’t do anything”, “I am sick and have the right to indulgence, so leave me alone”. Self-doubt, timidity and low self-esteem, causing feelings of shame and guilt, paralyze and exhaust the child: he quickly gets tired, becomes passive, capitulates to difficulties and does not try to overcome them. An irritable weakness is manifested - an overreaction to insignificant reasons, vulnerability, incontinence of emotions, impatience, vanity, increased excitability and rapid exhaustion.
At hysterical the neurosis is dominated by the setting "it will still be in my opinion."
The means of liberation or achievement of the desired is an imaginary illness. Adaptation occurs through the impact of the unconscious sphere of the psyche on the physiological functions of the body with the recreation of the symptoms of a particular disease. Hysterical reactions are always designed for someone. At the same time, the child himself is sincerely convinced that he is seriously and chronically ill.
Obsessional neurosis(neurosis of obsessive states that are not subject to volitional regulation) begins with anxious suspiciousness, a tendency to obsessive experiences: fear of illness, death, mistakes and accidents.
The instinct of self-preservation is aggravated, everything new and unknown causes anxiety and fear. Adaptation to life occurs in the form of striving for supersecurity and supercontrol. It manifests itself in the development of obsessive ritual actions that are symbolically protective in nature: they protect against possible and imaginary threats or are an unconscious way of self-punishment for a mistake. Such children are distinguished by their hypersociality: they are disciplined, meticulously obligatory, anxiously circumspect.
TO phobic children with a reduced level of orientation in the outside world, increased impressionability and suggestibility are predisposed to neurosis. A strong fright, perceived by the child as a direct threat to life, provokes a painful exacerbation of the instinct of self-preservation, causes panic states and reactions.