According to psychologists, “psychogenic dwarfism” refers to the lack of parental affection and mental depression, resulting in the developmental disorders of children with dwarfism. Many children who are divorced or have a poor family environment will have slower growth. Lack of affection, mental stress and trauma can lead to neurological, humoral and endocrine dysfunction, resulting in a decrease in the secretion of growth hormone and thyroid hormone, which help children grow taller, thus causing growth disorders.
The incidence of psychogenic dwarfism among children left behind is a new “epidemic” with a high incidence of childhood diseases in Europe and the United States in recent years. The emergence of this disease is closely related to the special social environment – high divorce rate, in addition to some children who are always away from their parents and brought up by their grandparents, are also prone to this situation.
It is understood that about 2% of the children with dwarfism in China each year have psychogenic dwarfism, and most of them are raised by their grandparents because their parents work outside the home.
The best “height enhancer” is parental care. “Psychogenic dwarfism is reversible, and when the child’s psychological burden is removed, he or she can still grow normally.” Psychologists say that when many parents find out that their children are short, the first thing they focus on is nutrition and disease factors, giving them this and that, but in fact what they need is perhaps parental care, reducing the burden of homework, and ensuring adequate sleep and exercise. Parental care is the best “height enhancer”, once the child is found to have this disease, does not need to immediately use drugs, may be through psychological counseling, parental care and adequate exercise can be improved.