Tics or twitches are often caused by stress and in most cases are not serious

OUT of the blue, you notice your child is twitching his eyelid, shrugging his shoulder or wrinkling up his nose. It’s a spasm-like muscle movement, it’s repeated and you’re getting worried.

“Parents get a bit nervous when they see this, but simple tics are very common and most often are not serious,” says Professor Alf Nicholson, consultant paediatrician at Temple Street Children’s Hospital and co-author of When Your Child is Sick, What You Can Do to Help.