For whether a child is pretending to be depressed, the main way to distinguish is through the following aspects: 1. emergence time: normal depression is a slow process, the child will not suffer from depression in a relatively short period of time, the condition gradually occurs, the development takes several months or even more than a year. If the child is pretending to be depressed, the onset of depression is usually rapid, and the child may suddenly appear depressed, without a slow development process. 2. In contrast, depression in the true sense has no obvious purpose, and even if parents meet their needs to the fullest extent, the child’s depressive symptoms may only change slightly, but not disappear fundamentally.