Is my child happy?

[NewMember1980]

Hello. First time on this wesbite so hope I'm doing this right.

I'm hoping someone can help point us in the right direction for help and advice on finding out if our child is happy. e.g. websites, forums, GP, professionals.

Our daughter is 9 years old and there's nothing glaringly obvious, nothing that stands out which suggests she is unhappy. But there's always that feeling in the back of our minds, that perhaps it's not obvious because she's hiding it.

In the last month her Grandfather passed away, plus of course like most people, we're worried about the long term effects of COVID Lockdowns. So we're worried a lot has happened and she's not sure how to process it.

We'd just like to know if there's steps to take, questions to ask to make sure she's ok.

Many thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

Best wishes

have you had any conversations with her at all about how she's feeling about the loss of a grandparent, lockdown or any other issues? I'm no therapist but I think getting her to open up about her feelings is a start. Following on from there you will get a feel on whether or not she'll need professional help or not.

@ISayItLikeItIs

have you had any conversations with her at all about how she's feeling about the loss of a grandparent, lockdown or any other issues? I'm no therapist but I think getting her to open up about her feelings is a start. Following on from there you will get a feel on whether or not she'll need professional help or not.

Hello. Thank you for replying.

We have spoken with her about her grandfather passing. We ask her if she has any questions and we tell her it's ok to be upset. She doesn't say a lot or ask questions but she does cry about him. She does say she's upset she'll never see him. So there is some communication but we do worry she hides things but maybe she doesn't.

We've never really specified "Lockdown" in conversation when asking how she is. Or asked her what she felt about "Lockdown".

It could very well be there's nothing to worry about. I guess we're just looking for advice on what signs to look out for.

Thanks again