The fear of children is evolutionary. As the children are turning years, they go through different stages and experience different childhood fears, which change as they are overcome. Within this evolution, children must overcome fears to face the following with courage. The problem of the fears of children appears when these fears do not evolve, become enchanted and do not disappear from one stage to another of growth.
Overcoming every fear is important. Generally, this is something that happens naturally, but sometimes, it is not so easy for some children because they can be linked to unpleasant experiences, for example. Parents should be the first to realize this circumstance and help their children overcome their fears.
How to help overcome children's fears?
1. Fear of strangers
a) It is the first fear that manifests in the baby around nine months. At this age, he begins to miss his reference adults when they are not close and do not want to leave the arms of dad and mom to stay with another person, who although he has seen it before, probably does not remember.
b) Talking with strangers is a risk, which children should learn, but preventing them from increasing their fears, always transmitting confidence and security. Teach him to be cautious and not accept objects, candies or invitations from strangers.
Positive education: Respect the fear of the child and do not belittle him for being afraid, telling him that he is a fearful ... Praise his advances even if they are minimal and thus help him to be a little braver every day. To prevent your baby from expressing a sharp fear of separation from their parents, from six months of age, encourage contact with family and other people, so that when the time comes, you will be familiar with other people.
2. Fear of separation
Generally, it focuses on the figure of the mother and takes place at the beginning of nursery or college or due to a divorce. This fear arises when the child suffers from being separated from the people to whom he is emotionally attached, especially from his mother.
With the truth in front. Informing the child naturally about what is happening will help him overcome his fear. It is better for him to talk openly to him that dad or mom will come over the weekend to play with him or pick him up after school, with a clear and simple language that he can understand, than lie or disguise reality, than in Sometimes you can feed your fears more than transmit peace of mind.
3. Fear of changes
Habits and routines provide security for children and babies and, therefore, a change of home, school, culture, country, friends ... It can become a nightmare for the child. To prevent changes from producing fear in the child, we must anticipate and tell him what will happen, in this way, the child can prepare psychologically for the new situation. It is important that you talk about the new change with optimism and hope for a better situation.
Prepare him for what will come. To prevent changes from producing fear in the child, we must anticipate and tell him what will happen, in this way, the child can prepare psychologically for the new situation. It is important that you talk about the new change with optimism and hope for a better situation.
4. Fear of the dark
Prevents the child from experiencing negative and sudden experiences, and places a small light on his bedroom or a pilot light so he can see and his room is never completely dark. One in three children fear the dark.
Avoid negative and sudden experiences. Keep in mind that this fear of darkness can arise from a bad explanation of monster tales, or from nightmares and imaginary situations. For this reason, select films and children's programs appropriate to their age and choose appropriate readings.
5. Fear of thunder and storms
The storms and the noise of the thunder that, in many fiction scenes, are associated with scary stories can increase children's fear of these natural phenomena.
Avoid overprotecting your child. To accustom the child to thunder and thunderstorms, approach the window from a young age when it rains so that it sees thunder and lightning as something natural and normal related to bad weather. Explain that it is a passing natural phenomenon, which will not harm you. Learning to face problems from an early age will make you an independent person with your own resources to deal with complications.
6. Fear of animals
Life in cities makes contact with animals less frequent, so it is normal for animals, as strangers, to cause fear in children.
Keep calm in stressful situations. Avoid transmitting fear to your child or to see you stressed or fearful in the presence of an animal. Children should be familiar with animals since they are young. Teaching them to respect and care for them is essential to ward off their fear. Not obstently and always naturally you must warn the child of the danger that may run if you approach an unknown animal. In this case, it is always convenient to keep the distance.
7. School fears
There are many fears that revolve around the school. In younger children, anticipatory anxiety or fear is common in the moments before they arrive at school and in older children there are others such as fear of school failure and punishment, social fear of activities that must be carried out in public like reading, exposing a job ... and the fear of physical discomfort.
It encourages the resolution of problems by the child. Because children spend most of their time in school helping them build solid self-esteem, which provides them with self-confidence, it is the best thing parents can do. Avoid that he always uses you to obtain a solution, because you will be preventing him from developing his autonomy and independence.
8. Night fears
Most night fears are related to other fears such as fear of darkness, loneliness, separation, dreams and nightmares ... When the problem lies in the child's difficulty in falling asleep, it is only convenient to find the cause real of his fear to disassemble it little by little.
It downplays the fears and fears of your child. Sometimes, it is convenient to dramatize to dismantle the fear of the child. It is important to remind the child that his fears are normal and that they are part of his development.
9. Fear of physical harm
Jumping from a trampoline, going too fast on the bike ... can pose a risk to the physical integrity of children. Some may even stop doing some sports activities for fear of damage and pain due to personal faults or entry into the field.
Strengthen the courage of the child. Encourage him to perform the sport or physical activity he likes, so that he gradually faces situations that cause him fear. Underline your courageous behaviors.
10. Fear of death
A negative experience around the loss of a loved one can trigger the fear of death in the child, for not knowing what awaits us beyond life.
Hide your fears. Many people prefer not to think about this topic, but remember that children learn by imitation and your child could develop phobias just because you have them.
Marisol New. Editor of GuiaInfantil.com
How to help children overcome their fears
