OCD? Rituals? In a 5 yr old

[Thomcat]

I am a bit worried about my 5 year old, maybe a bit overly worried but thought the best thing I could do for now would be to thrash out these worries with Mumsnetters.

In the last week I have noticed my 5 year old tap her cheeks, then cross her arms at the wrist and tap again and then, i think because she does it quickly, she taps again with uncrossed arms.

The reason I'm possibly overworried about this is because my 36 yr old sister has HORRIFIC OCD and has had it since she was 3, really bad since she was 13. It's the sort of OCD that prevents her working, going out, having friends.... or a life sad

Last night I spoke to DD2 about this, very gently, asking her, in a smiley way how it made her feel when she did this and did she have nay other little things she liked to do like this.

She showed me how she liked to pull her top down, 2 tugs to each side, cross arms and tug again etc and then she showed me how she likes to click her teeth together in little multiples in a certain way and how each set of teeth tapping together has a colour code or something.

I told her it was ok, that it was fine and that I had a funny little thing about colouring in when I was little and assured her not to worry about telling me this stuff etc.

I've made an appt to go and see my GO next week to talk about if there is anything I should or shouldn't do.

Meanwhile, anyone else with experience of this.
Am paranoid she'll end up with OCD as bad as my sister and I already have a child with additional needs.
It's that time of the month for me so probably extra emotional but can NOT stop crying!

Hi TC

no experience so I'm bumping for you

Thanks for bumping :-)

any one out there that can help?

How is your DD in general ? Is she a happy child ? A worrier ? Sensitive ?
What was going on in her life when she started doing this ?

I used to do similiar things when I was a child. Sometimes the epsiodes would last months - sometimes a few days but it was usually when I was feeling worried or insecure. I am still a bit OCD but not to a point it is disruptive.

Apparently most people are OCD in some form - its just very mild in some people and very severe in others.
Rituals are a coping mechanism so whatever is causing your DDs stress/anxiety is being relieved by them, unfortunately it can become a regular thing.
I know its hard - but the more you stress about it - the more stress your DD will pick up.
Perhaps you could try to be reassuring to her in general but not refer to the 'rituals' ? Try to identify if she has any worries without interrogating her. Also, make sure that any worries or problems you or your family have are not discussed in front of her.

I am sure the Doctor can refer you to someone qualified to help you if you are really worried. Good luck

Thanks Davsmum.
She is a bit sensitive sometimes, but generally she's a REALLy happy, energetic, crazy, fun girl. I wouldn't call her a worrier as such but she is very passionate and so if she feels sad about something she does so with a passion, iykwim!
I can't think of anything that has happened that would bring these rituals on. It's hard to know. Maybe she is trying very hard at school and is a little anxious. It doesn't appear so to me but it could be the case I guess????? It's a tricky one to ask about without making her feel interregated. She says she's fine and I can't detect any worries in her life. I'm not a worrier myself, (until this!!) and we don't really have any worries as a family. Yes her sister has Down's syndrome but none of us worry about that in anyway. Hmmmmmmm??????
I agree that everyone has a slight OCDness to them in some small way. I guess if DD2 is going to have an OCD thing going on I want to know if there is anything i can do at an early stage to help prevent them from getting out of control in any way. The GP will help there.
I wonder how common this is with little ones. Interesting to know that you used to do it. Thanks so much for your post x

Read Naked by David Sedaris. He was riddled with rituals, and now he's okay. It's not a 'how I got over OCD memoir'; it's a book of memoir short stories, and the first is the OCD one. They are very funny and it might help you look at your own situation with lightness. As I recall, his mother just left him to it and warded off the teachers with comedy...

Thomcat. I doubt my mother would have been aware of stuff that worried me when I was little. It can be what we may call 'silly' things - and it could just be a passing phase. I don't think its always necessarily a bad thing when children using coping mechanisms when feeeling stressed or vulnerable.

I happened to mention my OCD to the doctor recently. I was telling her that it got very bad after my first child was born and I had post natal depression,..and she said to me that it probably got me through a bad time because it helped me to cope instead of 'cracking up' !

I did not go on to develop OCD to an extreme so try not to worry.