Self Harm thoughts in a 7yr old?

Question

My 7 and a half year old son yesterday mentioned that he wanted to jam his fingers in the car door. He then went ahead and put his fingers in the door when I wasn't looking. Luckily I seen them at the last minute. His Step Father and I are going through a tough Divorce. My son WILL NOT cry about it. He says "oh I'm fine mum, I'll look after you". He is taking on the role of protecting me. I'm so worried about him. I'm on my way to see my G.P, but anyone ever had this happen???

Answer 1

Listen to your son. Spend a lot of quality time with him, try to hear what he is trying to tell you through these actions. Try to get him to confide in you. And take him to see a therapist. Really, he just needs to be listened to and loved.  

Answer 2

Well it seems that these thoughts are generating from somewhere. You are going to have to find out where.It definately could be from the divorce or maybe it's from school.A lot of people have these thoughts but they are not good thoughts at all.The older that he gets,the stronger that these thoughts will become.You are going to need to get this settled.Pray to GOD about this.Maybe you should pray with your son to GOD.That would be even better.You are going to probably have to set down with him and ask him,is there something that he is depressed or angry about.He may not be showing it emotionaly but he's taking it out on himself.It's basically like a cry out for help.Not only will these thoughts become stronger as he gets older but they will also get worse as he gets older.Maybe he thinks that he is the reasom of why you and his step father are getting a divorce and maybe that's why he is taking all of this out on himself.Something is really bothering him.You might also want to seek professional help for him but that's only if you think that it will help him.With him being seven years old,he might understand the therapist or he might become confused.Do whatever you think is best for him,he's your son after all.I seriously believe that he is showing his pain through his self harming or thoughts about self harming.He probably doesn't know how to express it in any other way.Assure him that if he needs to cry about something,that he can.I believe that he is holding it all in.You should set down and talk to him and see if anything is bothering him or is he depressed or angry about something.It's up to you to talk to him and find out if anything is wrong or something.I hope I helped you in some way or another.He's only seven,anything could be running through his mind,find out what's going on in his mind.GOD BLESS you!

Answer 3

Children as young as two and three have been known to have suicidal thoughts and self-harm.

While I doubt your son is suicidal, I would make an appointment with a counselor.  It sounds like he's having a tough time.

Many children self-harm at that age.  It is not as uncommon as many people believe.

Answer 4

That's tough. My advice to you would be to take him to see a counselor or something. No 7 yr. old child should have to deal with a thing like self-injury. I've worked in an elementary school for the past three years and sadly I have seen this sort of behavior in kids your son's age. You need to deal with this as soon as possible before it gets any worse. Ask your doctor who a good counselor is and hopefully that will be helpful.

Good Luck with everything.

Answer 5

Hey, I totally know how he feels. I'm 14 and I started self harming myself a few months ago, and I'm still trying to stop. Basically, like most cases, I did it b/c I wanted people, particularly my parents, to feel bad for me and pay more attention. Maybe you could try talking to him about it, or try to get to the source of the problem, and help him through it.

I wish the best for you both,

Good luck!  

Answer 6

yes i am 16 years old n i personally cut on myself n u need 2 get him in into a doctor ASAP he could get worst if not treated

          HOPED I HELPED

Answer 7

You need to take him to a therapist.  Children have strong impulses, and equally strong reactions to those impulses.

He is obviously either truly feeling masochistic (feeling that he wants to harm himself) or wants your attention badly enough to harm himself.

A divorce is harder on a 7 year old than a 10 or 12 year old. He isn't crying because he doesn't fully understand what is happening. At seven, he is barely old enough to understand what is going on.  A lot of kids that age feel that they are the cause of the marriage ending.  Professional help is necessary.  Otherwise, he will continue acting in this way on a larger scale when things go wrong as he is older.

Try reinforcing positive behavior constantly... thank him a lot for helping you with various things, remind him of how helpful he is and that you need him around, and you appreciate his willingness to help you.  This will make him feel needed, and he will feel that he doesn't need to act out for your attention.  

Sit down with him and ask him to draw with you.  Ask him to draw a picture of how he feels.  Ask him to draw a picture of mommy.  Ask questions about what he draws.  You can draw a picture of him being a nice, strong, smart young man and explain why.

But mostly, seek professional help so he learns to deal with things he doesn't fully understand.  

Answer 8

talk to him one on one or maybe get a counselor

Answer 9

well ur son feels like he has to be tough through all this for you...

but may i suggest taking him to a therapist?

because there is such a thing call guilt syndrome or childhood depression....

try to reassure him that he doesn't need to protect you and he must be a kid.

Answer 10

No. But it happened to my boyfriend at a very young age. Get him some help, maybe  someone to talk to, And he may have a chemical imbalacement, meaning anti depressants may be in the future for him. And make him talk as well. Don't just let him do these things, and make him understand that self harm is a bad way to deal with anger, or sadness or stress. good luck

Answer 11

Your son is under pressure and stress, and acting out accordingly.  Since he really lacks the skills to cope and probably vocabulary to express his feelings- this is the result.  I've seen young kids do this sort of thing before, as well as do things like pull out their hair and eyelashes, even rub a spot of skin raw.  It's a serious stress reaction and one that needs attention.  You need to get your son to a child psychologist to help him cope.  You also need to work with the child's father to unite at least to help him.  He currently probably feels pretty torn between the two of you, with some animosity towards the dad likely.  He's also thinking he needs to take on the role of your protector, which he definitely lacks the maturity for.  Whatever the troubles between you and the father, you will both need to set them aside for your son's health.  Then you need to keep him well out of it, so he's not torn between loyalty and love for the two of you.  Until you can destress things for him, keep a close eye on him.  This may well not be the last attempt he makes to harm himself.