Hair pulling in 7 year old dd

[Wannabehermit]

I've just been rearranging DD's room for new furniture and behind a chest of drawers under her high sleeper I've found loads ( about 20) of little clumps of hair where she's tied her hair into little clumps and then bitten them off! I have noticed her hair looking a bit thin in places, and yesterday she cut off a piece of her hair at school. The thinness I put down to her diet. She has been low in iron in the past because of her poor diet and appetite.

She's generally quite a good girl, does get a bit tearful and tired at times. There has been a lot of stress in the family recently. Do you think I should take her to the GP? Is it likely she's got an anxiety problem? What would do and how would you approach it?

Hi - our DS (8) had this recently.

He gets anxious and gets various "habits" - nervous tics really. He had a stammer for a few weeks, for example. He's a lot better this year as has a really good teacher (last year his class was quite unsettled).

The advice I have seen about nervous habits like this is to ignore the habit but reassure the child - listen to them, let them tell you their worries, sympathise etc. Try and talk to them about self calming techniques like breathing. I got DS some worry beads also, which helped a little (till he lost them...) And if the habit doesn't go away or change into something else after a few weeks, maybe then consult the GP.

The important thing is to try to not make a big deal out of it though; I haven't been to the GP because I feel it would be making it into an issue.

It's so worrying, I know; it made me so sad that my DS was doing this.

In your shoes, I would go to the GP without my child. That way, you're not making it into a huge deal for them, but you're also getting professional advice about how to deal with it. It doesn't sound like a short phase sort of thing, so I'd definitely want to find out ways to stop it in case it gets worse.