The first step in helping the depressed child is to recognize that the child is, in fact, depressed. This can be challenging.
Childhood is supposed to be a happy, carefree time of life.
Only in recent years has scientific evidence convinced most mental health specialists that childhood depression exists. Recognizing the symptoms of childhood depression can also be difficult. Still others hide their feelings of hopelessness and worthlessness under a cover of irritability, aggression, hyperactivity, and misbehavior. Complicating the recognition of depression are the developmental stages that children pass through on the way to adulthood. Negativism, clinging, or rebellion may be normal and temporary expressions of a particular stage.