It’s common for kids to experience fear. So, how can parents help their children navigate those fears? Dr. Sarah Adams provides some tips.
It’s common for kids to experience fears.
Fears can be tricky
- It can be tricky to figure out if your child is developing a fear. In a young child, it might appear as temper tantrums. In an older child, it may just be avoidance. In some children though, they may actually have symptoms such as their heart racing, or they feel dizzy.
Techniques that help
- Provide reassurance. For example, if they’re afraid of lightning, talk about lightning and how safe they really are from it. A lot of times children just need reassurance and to know that if you’re okay, then they’re okay. I also recommend guided imagery. Some people understand guided imagery as going to their “happy place.” The point is to distract them by occupying their mind with something else, something they like.
- In younger children, you could use a technique I call the “worry box,” where you write down some of the fears or worries a child has. Put it in a box. You might decide to decorate the box to make it more fun or you can simply use an old shoebox. Once it goes in the box, the stress, the worry, and the fear goes away.
When to get additional help
- A fear can be problematic if it affects your child’s daily function. If they’re still able to go to school, and make friends, and they’re social then the fear is not as concerning as a child who maybe doesn’t want to go to school, or all of a sudden doesn’t even want to leave the house, or isn’t eating well or sleeping well.
- If you feel the fear is becoming more serious and is interfering with their normal function, talk to your pediatrician. They may be able to give you some simple techniques that can help or identify something that may need more specialized care.
