Loneliness in children, how to detect it and help make friends
The human being is social by nature, every individual needs someone with whom to relate and feel within a group. However, on some occasions it is difficult to establish a friendship. A situation that can make children feel left out and think if they have something bad that makes the rest avoid their contact. Therefore, it is very important to detect these situations.
Detecting loneliness in children is very important to see if there is a problem and correct it. In this way, parents can help their children to start friendship with others and create a group where you feel loved and can develop your most social facet.
How does loneliness affect children?
As has been said, the human being is a social creature. Therefore, loneliness has important consequences in the health of individuals, it can even be more dangerous than obesity for the organism. The evidence shows that not having friends causes children to sink mentally and physically. This is explained by the study carried out by the Brigham Young University in Utah.
Loneliness causes the body to be exposed to an excess of stress hormones. A anxiety so that the little ones are not prepared and whose effects can end up becoming a serious problem. Erosion of arteries, presence of hypertension, decreased abilities such as learning or memory, these are some of the effects mentioned in this study.
At the mental level, that a child does not have close friends and a lack of social contact In general, it causes anguish in people. Sadness is also a dominant note in these cases, causing a feeling of emptiness, isolation and distance from the rest. In the case of minors, loneliness can have long-term effects, preventing them from developing their social skills.
How to detect loneliness in children?
Children spend a lot of time away from home, how do you know if they are developing their social skills? What clues can tell parents that their children are going through problems in this field? These are some tracks:
- The child seems shy, anxious, unsure of himself or sad.
- The child demonstrates a lack of interest in the environment.
The child seems to have no social skills that can prevent him from initiating or maintaining interactions.
- The child has the necessary social skills but is reluctant to use them.
- The child is victimized by the parents.
- The apparent loneliness of the child seems to be a constant pattern over time, or is a more recent phenomenon.
Ideas to help socialize
If the child has any of these symptoms, the first thing is to go to talk with the teachers to know how the social side of the children is developing. More smalls. In the case confirm the lack of friendships, parents can help to establish these relationships:
- Reinforce your self-esteem. Not having friends can make the child wonder what's wrong, so you have to reinforce your positive thoughts through self-esteem.
- Do not allow victimhood. The lack of friends can cause the child to be locked in their own world and not want to open up, parents should encourage the young man to do the opposite and allow himself the luxury of making himself known.
- Value other options. Could it be that the child is carrying a more serious problem that prevents him from making friends? Any language disorder?
Damián Montero
