A little sad...

I am concerned about my six yr old. He has been acting a bit off lately and telling me he just "feels sad." He is generally a very active child, but lately he lays on the couch needing to be motivated to go and often looks for cuddles (which is unusual for him.)

I know he is a worry wart. He worries about everything, especially growing up and death.

Tonight he surprised me with a comment he made....I told him how cute he looked with his teeth missing and he said, "that's not real mom, all parents say that about their kids."

Is this normal at this age? He recently started to take a new medicine and I am wondering if his sadness has to do with that.

ITA

Re: A little sad...

It could have to do with the medication. If it's medication for attention deficit, it tends to make them focus more - including on any problems or sad feelings they have.

It's worth a mention to the doctor.

Also, I do think it's perfectly normal for a 6 year old to start to notice that what their mom says doesn't necessarily make it true. They start to invest more in what their friends think than their parents at that age - at least in my experience that's when it started.

Re: A little sad...

He is on Detrol for an over active bladder. Anyone with experience with this? He is also still on Miralax.

Nrthshgrl, thanks for the response. Yea I know he doesn't necessarily think I am right all the time. But, I don't know its just the way he said it. He sounded so sad. Maybe he is just plaint me. Maybe he misses seeing his friends on a daily basis at school.

He is really intense. He can actually make insights about people now. Two of his favorite people, his cousin and his best friend, he recently realized are flawed. He tells me how he has to deal with them to keep them happy.

I don't know I wonder if its a little my fault, for answering some of his questions too truthfully, ilke more adult questions, say about money and things. He has chores and responsibilities, Maybe too much.

Recently he has been talking about what he wants to be when he grows up, but not anything imaginary or even unrealistic. He really wanted to be a science teacher for a while because he likes science and wants vacation time. Do 6 yr olds really think like that? No astronaut, airplane pilot, baseball player?

I just feel a little bad that he does not seem happy go lucky anymore.

I guess that's normal. Anyway I still worry about the sudden sadness and lack of energy.

Thanks for your thoughts.

Re: A little sad...

My 5 yr old son sounds alot like yours, He is a worrier and thinker. We worries about death and growing up as well.

I think the death part has to do with my mom- she passed before he was born but I have taken him to her grave since birth and he asks a ton of questions.

He has always been a thinker and a questioner as well and like you I worry if me telling him the truth it may have been my fault.

I dont think he is depressed or anything- just a very intense insightful kid.

Maybe he is bored? i know when my son is bored he seems down but as soon as I play pretend with him( his favorite game) he perks up.

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Thanks for your responses. Hopefully this is just a stage. All this worry is getting to me.

Re: A little sad...

OMG, Ava just turned 6, and is terrified of death all of a sudden. It is creepy! Don't know where it came from, but she is very anxious about herself or one of us dying.

Re: A little sad...

It may very well be a stage. My daughter just turned 5. She is suddenly always asking & worrying about the future. "Am I gonna be a good mommy?" "Do you think I'm going to have girl babies or boy babies?" "Who am I going to marry?" "What color car am I going to have?" At first I thought it was just plain adorable, but now she asks these kinds of questions so much I'm starting to think she is really worrying about what her adult life is goign to be like.