7 year old son saying 'strange' things

tryingtodobetter

As the title suggests my 7 year old has been saying some strange things lately. Here is an example of things he has said in the last week:

"When I'm older I'm going to kill myself"

"I'm fat and ugly"

"Why doesn't anyone at school like me?" when I pointed out that he had lots of friends, he said that they were just "using" him.

Last night he said to my other DS that he was not the real (insert DS name) and that he was going to kill him.

This has been going on for the last 2 weeks. My DH and I think that it maybe attention seeking behaviour, but this is out of character. Everything seems fine at school, we have a parents evening meeting with his teacher this evening so I will ask about his behaviour at school.

Does anybody have any experience of this or something similar with their own children?

I would be grateful for any advice on how to handle it.

Thanks.

Damzel_In_Distress

tryingtodobetter wrote: »

As the title suggests my 7 year old has been saying some strange things lately. Here is an example of things he has said in the last week:

"When I'm older I'm going to kill myself"

"I'm fat and ugly"

"Why doesn't anyone at school like me?" when I pointed out that he had lots of friends, he said that they were just "using" him.

Last night he said to my other DS that he was not the real (insert DS name) and that he was going to kill him.

This has been going on for the last 2 weeks. My DH and I think that it maybe attention seeking behaviour, but this is out of character. Everything seems fine at school, we have a parents evening meeting with his teacher this evening so I will ask about his behaviour at school.

Does anybody have any experience of this or something similar with their own children?

I would be grateful for any advice on how to handle it.

Thanks.

Hi,the two bits ive highlighted are what i would find most concerning.

I think if i were in your position i would take him to my GP asap.

It could be something or nothing,but certain things he's said can also be signs of a bigger problem.

Of course im not saying that is what it is,just that its better to get all your options checked out,just incase.

There are hundreds of children everyday diognosed with mental health problems,and its better to take him to a GP and rule anything out and that sit and wait and hope its just attention seeking.

I have a much younger sister-she is 10 now,but a few years ago when she was around 7,And my mum had started a new job and wasnt home much,i was left looking after my sister and brother as a favour during the days and some nights,and i noticed similar behaviour from my sister.

She was saying the things you have mentioned and some much more sinister and upsetting things.I told my mum who honestly didnt have "the time" to deal with it :rolleyes: and eventually it got that bad she was getting so distressed that i took her to the doctor myself.She was diognosed as having depression.

There are some mental illnesses that begin to surface more and are more noticed from age 7,if you google your own problem you will see what i mean.

Please dont think im saying youve got a mentally ill child! I am not at all. Just that its better to get every option checked out,than to hope its something small and silly,just incase.

Good luck.;)

sneezyboots

I agree with the first response. Take them to the docs.

Also, ask his teacher during the parents evening to keep an eye on him, and to get others that come into contact with him at school to keep an eye too (dinner staff etc). I am a primary school teacher and during my training i was in a class and a 6 year old started saying similar things to me. Obviously i alerted his teacher and she was completely unaware as he had not said them in front of her. She spoke to some collegues and got his mum in who said it had been going on at home too. the child then spent some time with the learning mentor in school every week which really helped him. turned out his grandfather had passed away a few months earlier and he had not come to terms with it yet. This behaviour in the child soon settled down and then completely dissappeared.

bulchy

You could have a chat with the doc without your son being there if you think this would be better. My son had some problems a good few years ago where he feared everyone around him, including himself, was going to die. He analysed everything we offered him, even down to the ingrediants in toothpaste, as he feared he was going to be poisoned. Me and my oh spoke to the doctor and he referred us to the family centre at the local hospital.Turned out my son had never got over how his nana died, just a few visits and chats with a social worker helped him (and us)enourmously. I know my sons circumstances are different to yours, but just wanted to let you know how we managed to help our lad. Good luck, hope you can get to the bottom of this.
Sue

Reggie_Rebel

TV/PC in his room?
Unsuitable console games?

Start with the usual suspects and work out

tryingtodobetter

Thanks for the responses so far. It is great to get other peoples input and responses to what is an upsetting situation. I will speak to his teacher this evening, but I doubt she will have noticed anything as he tends to keep himself to himself where she is concerned.

He does not have a TV or PC in his room and he just plays the average Nintendo DS games suitable for his age e.g Mario Kart, My Sims Kingdom etc.

Thanks again everyone.

geekgirl

Perhaps he is being bullied and the things he is repeating are things that are being said to him. It sounds like he is having a bad time with his self image. This may have come from other kids being horrible to him.

lrr_2

It sounds like he is lonely and being bullied and he thinks the only way round this it to become a different person. If his "friends" are using him (which can be the case) then they arent real friends anyway.

Things said in jest can really hurt kids (and adults) and with some people they are like a dog with a bone and wont let it go.

Good luck!

UKTigerlily

I'd urge you to see his GP immediately, it might be nothing but it's more than likely something. I have mental illnesses & experience with it & it concerns me that a 7yr old is saying these things, I doubt it's attention seeking, even if it is it should never be ignored & you're right to speak to his teachers also, but please please see a Dr. I hope he'll be ok & you too, it must be a huge worry x

Loz01

I agree with everyone, take him to the GP for an informal chat - maybe he's repeating things he's heard on tv/in the playground? He might not fully understand what "killing himself" means, he might just be repeating stuff. On the other hand, if you say he has no console/tv in his room, so hard to know where he is getting those phrases from.

DentalPhobic

Sounds to me like your son has developed an unhealthy obsession with the reality of death. This usually kicks in about 7 - when we realise the finality of death. It is one of the biggest things we have to handle as human beings. It's scary, and we never really get over it or come to terms with it. We all handle it differently, some children never give it another thought, some worry normally, some go on to obsess. My son was the same. I could not go out the house and he thought I was going to die, or he was, or someone he knew was. It was all brought on by his friend reading him horror stories (really awful ones) and looking at unsuitable material on a sleepover. I took him to my GP and he was seen by a mental health childrens nurse for about a year. It all sorted itself out, and is not a problem now.

Unless your son is harming small animals I wouldn't worry too much, but get him to the GP.