Your child should continue to be an active participant in the family.
Your child should be able to express remorse or guilt when they have calmed down after misbehaving. After regaining composure, your child should be able to have some insight about his or her inappropriate behavior. Sometime your child should be able to laugh about how ridiculously he or she had behaved.
During this period of adjustment, your child should continue to show a need for emotional closeness and support from the family. Preteens and some teenagers may not want physical closeness, like a hug. You should not interpret this as a rejection or their not wanting to be close. Some children get uncomfortable with close physical contact. Your past experience with your child will tell you better how to interpret the repulsion.
Your child still needs and should still respond to praise and encouragement. After a time, your child may need help if you can't get a smile.
This list is not all-inclusive, but it should give you some idea about what to look for. Again, if you are worried, get professional help from a therapist that has experience with children and teens.
How do You Know if Your Child Needs Professional Help? Not all children going through the breakup of the family need therapy. Unfortunately, some do need help. Knowing how or when to make the decision about getting your child professional help can be extremely important to your child's overall welfare. There is less risk by being conservative and getting your child help too early than waiting for your child's world to crumble. Maybe the guidelines below will help you make an informed decision. (continue)
Understanding When Children Need Professional Help:(part 2)
