The common mental illness types that are prevalent in children include:

●        Anxiety
Anxiety is characterized by fear, hopelessness, anger, and worries. Though fears and worries are common among children, the extremity of these can affect their mental health. The common types of anxiety include - separation anxiety (being away from parents), social anxiety (fear of crowds), and panic attacks (a situation of intensive fear accompanied by sweat, escalated heartbeat, and dizziness).

●        The common symptoms of anxiety in children include:

â—‹        Anger accompanied by irritability

â—‹        Health issues such as headaches or stomach aches

â—‹        Insomnia among children, i.e., lack of sleep

●        Depression
A feeling of sadness is another common mental health issue in children. The common mental illness symptoms include loss of interest in regular activities and enthusiasm like that of other children. All the signs of depression in children should be keenly noticed, as a state of extreme depression can also lead to suicide.

●        Common types of depressive childhood disorders include:

â—‹        Major Depressive Disorder (MDD): This type of disorder is characterized by episodes of sadness that last for about a week or two

â—‹        Persistent Depressive Disorder (PDD): This type of disorder is a milder form of depression that stays on with the normal life happenings. Children with PDD feel that what they feel is normal as a part of their life

â—‹        Bipolar Disorder: This type of disorder is characterized by extreme mood swings. According to NIMH, Bipolar disorder occurs in 1% to 3% of adolescents, and rates have increased forty-fold in the last decade

â—‹        Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD): This type of disorder is characterized by extreme anger and irritability episodes. DMDD can lead to anguished kid behavior and physical harm in worse case scenarios

●        The common symptoms of depression in children include:

â—‹        Sadness, hopelessness, and irritability

â—‹        The child does not enjoy the company of other children in the same age group

â—‹        Lack of concentration in school and while playing

â—‹        Feeling worthless or unworthy of everything

â—‹        Hypersomnia, i.e., sleeping more than what’s normal

●        Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
This is a type of developmental disorder where a child suffers from a lack of concentration and is unable to pay attention for long. Contrarily, children can also get excessively attentive, which leads to a situation called hyperfocus. For a proper diagnosis, the child should have developed the disease when below 12 years of age.

●        Common symptoms of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder include:

â—‹        Lack of attention

â—‹        Hyperfocus, i.e., extended focus on a topic, task, or an object

â—‹        Problems with learning abilities

â—‹        Distraction, ability to forget easily, and boredom

â—‹        Daydreaming, staying confused, and running away from reality

●        Learning Disability
Parents usually ask as to what is a learning disability. This is a type of neurodevelopmental disorder that leads to broken intellectual abilities in children. As a consequence, children find it difficult to adapt and grab things. Children with learning disabilities have an IQ level that goes below 70. About a quarter of these cases are related to genetic imbalance, whereas about 5% of them are inherited.

●        Common symptoms of learning disorder in children include:

â—‹        Delays in motor skills development

â—‹        Problems with speech

â—‹        Lack of self-organization and self-care skills

â—‹        Lack of problem-solving capability

â—‹        Problem with keeping up with the pace at school

●        Dependent Personality Disorder
Prevalent in children, dependent personality disorder implies being over-dependent on other people for their physical as well as emotional needs. When parents tend to overprotect their children and tend to their every need, a dependent personality disorder is the result, which continues through the later stages of life. Children affected by anxiety disorders are more susceptible to developing this mental disorder.

●        The common symptoms of dependent personality disorder include:

â—‹        Negligence to responsibilities

â—‹        Pessimism, i.e., expecting worse out of situations

â—‹        Breaking up completely when relationships end

â—‹        Lack of decision-making power

â—‹        Cannot stand loneliness

â—‹        Fear of rejection or criticism

●        Conduct Disorder
This is a child behavior problem that is prevalent among children (age 4-11) and adolescents ( age 12-19). When children violate rules or basic rights of others and tend to showcase antisocial behavior, they are majorly suffering from a conduct disorder.

●        Common symptoms of child conduct disorder include:

â—‹        No fear of consequences of one’s behavior

â—‹        Lack of empathy

â—‹        Aggression towards people and animals

â—‹        Bullying and threatening

â—‹        Damaging property

â—‹        Breaking rules at school and home

●        Eating Disorder
Eating disorders are characterized by abnormal eating habits and are most commonly found in kids in late childhood. Either they tend to eat less or more, which is known as binge eating. The cause of eating disorders is believed to be genetics, psychological, or other environmental factors.

●        Common symptoms of an eating disorder include:

â—‹        Weakness and fatigue

â—‹        Weight loss

â—‹        Lack of appetite/Binge eating

â—‹        Constipation or diarrhea

●        Oppositional Defiant Disorder
This is a type of behavior disorder prevalent in children where they are uncooperative, violent, and tend to create troubles for everyone. This mental illness can be a consequence of a negative environment at home, violent behavior of teachers at school, or development issues.

●        Common oppositional defiant disorder symptoms include:

â—‹        Angry and irritable mood and behavior

â—‹        Losing temper occasionally and on petty issues

â—‹        Are over-sensitive

â—‹        Showcases argumentative behavior

â—‹        Provokes other intentionally to annoy them

â—‹        Blames others for their behavior

●        Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
Autism spectrum disorder is a neurodevelopmental condition where children deal with behavioral and communication challenges. Children with ASD showcase repetitive patterns of behaviors and also have communication and interaction issues. The symptoms depend on the severity of the disease, but no matter how minor or severe the symptoms - special care should hold the utmost importance.

●        Common symptoms of Autism Spectrum Disorder include:

â—‹        Repetition of behavior and actions

â—‹        A problem in communication their needs

â—‹        Avoid eye contact and prefer seclusion

â—‹        Lack of social communication and interaction

â—‹        Have trouble adapting to changes

â—‹        Have an abnormal reaction to smell, taste, pain, or sounds 

Yes, dyslexia is a learning disability that involves problems with reading as children find it difficult to infer letters and connect them to derive meaning out of it. Dyslexia can also occur in children that have normal eyesight and affects the language processing area of the brain. According to Google Search results, dyslexia is common with more than 10 million cases per year in India alone.

Though there is no cure for dyslexia, it can be managed through special tutoring and emotional support. The major cause behind dyslexia narrows down to hereditary factors, i.e., children mostly carry the disability from their parents.

Some of the learning disability symptoms include:-

●        Starting to talk late

●        Ability to learn new words at a slow pace

●        Cannot connect words and are often confused

●        A problem in remembering the sequence of things

●        Difficulty with pronunciations

●        Difficulty in reading and spellings

●        Inability to learn a foreign language

Treatment - Yes, homeopathy can be used to treat kids’ problems in an effective manner. Homeopathy treats every individual as unique and works on eliminating the root cause of the problem instead of suppressing the problem.

Homeopathy is recommended for children due to the negligible side effects associated with it as compared to conventional medicines. Where adults can easily manage the side effects, it can get risky for children, considering their weak immunity system.

 What type of Homeopathy medicines are available for children?

Here is the list of homeopathy medicines recommended for children based on the health problem at hand.

 For a proper prescription and recommendation, it is advised to visit a homeopath, who, in turn, will analyze the problem before referring treatment for your children. The best part is that children love the sugary taste of the homeopathic medicines, which they consume happily without resisting.

Child health is a topic that urges every parent to pay attention to. Considering the growing health concerns and the spread of Coronavirus, it is necessary that parents ensure the best of care for their children.

In this guide, we answered the top 20 questions revolving around child health and tried to cover mental health, eye problems, and teeth problems in kids. We also talked about how to ensure good health for your children and the best practices to discipline them.

In the end, the goal is simple - ensure good mental and physical health and contribute positively towards your child’s upbringing. After all, our future lies in the hands of children, and we need to put efforts to safeguard them in every way possible.

A healthy life is equal to content and a happy life!

Nutrition - Children have a weak or we can say a developing immune system, which leaves it prone to diseases and health problems. Whether it is malnutrition or overnutrition, both ways your child is going to be affected negatively.

Managing eating habits and maintaining a high level of nutrition is essential for children for proper development of the immune system and bone density. Parents should be taking special care of their little ones and discourage them from eating junk food from time to time.

Hay-wired nutrition habits affect child development in several ways, such as:

●        Low energy and weakness

●        Less interest in learning

●        Lethargy and sluggishness

●        Decreased growth rate

●        Underweight (due to malnutrition) and obesity (due to overnutrition)

How to teach healthy eating habits to children?

Developing healthy eating habits for kids is essential more than ever. Children eating more junk means more health issues and a lack of strong immunity, which is quite essential nowadays that Coronavirus is affecting millions.

When your children eat well, this means proper growth and development of your kids that signify a healthy and active life. But, kids being kids can be reluctant towards eating green vegetables and cereals or drinking their daily dose of milk. So, what is the resolution?

Here are some of the tips to encourage healthy eating for kids:

●        Avoid serving packaged and processed food for children

●        Set an example by eating healthy food and let your children imitate you

●        Cook their favorite delicacies at home

●        Introduce healthy snacks into their diet

●        Give them a chance to eat what they like once a week (cheat day)

●        Find healthy alternatives to junk food. Such as fruit smoothies for ice cream 

Which food is good for health in children?

Good food equates to an equally good life. Parents need to encourage their children to maintain healthy eating habits. Some of the healthy food for children include: