Does your child have any weird quirks?

Blinking insistently, moving your neck or mouth for no reason, grimacing, making involuntary sounds, biting your nails and swinging your feet repeatedly… If your child has any of these quirksknow that they are common among school-aged children.

Up to 20% of the child population has strange manias, also called “nervous tic”, at the age of seven, eight or nine. It is a transient manifestation that tends to disappear naturally. Usually, manias appear after important events, such as the birth of a younger brother, the separation of parents, the death of a relative or changing schools.

According to psychologist Andreia Calçada, from São Paulo, the problem is more frequent among children who have very strict or overprotective parents: “The trigger for its emergence are conflicts that generate anxiety and make the child unable to express himself. The difficulty of adapting to school is an example”. Reprimanding her is no use, because she does not control these movements.

Parents should understand the habit as a symptom and encourage the child to talk about what bothers him. In more serious cases, the help of a psychologist or psychiatrist may be necessary.