Irrational Childhood Fears: What You Should Know
Irrational childhood fears are often threatening and difficult to control, which is also very frustrating for parents.
Children can have irrational fears of monsters under the bed, the dark, or even everyday noises. The role of parents is to instill a sense of calm and support their child.
You need to help your child manage irrational childhood fears in order to reduce their impact on their life. Often, simple steps can help you gain control over your fear.
A study on the subject suggests that parents need to identify their children’s fears and realize that they are real to the child.
It is important to stay calm, show empathy and most importantly never force your child into frightening situations. Read this article to learn more.
How can you overcome irrational childhood fears?
1. Respect your child’s opinion
Accept your child’s fears and don’t see them as unimportant inventions. Even if the fears may seem unfounded, the child experiences them for specific reasons.
As a parent, you need to listen and respect your child’s feelings because they have the right to express them. Do not view irrational childhood fears as trivialities or force your child to show excessive courage. Try to help him and give him security.
2. Give him all the information he needs about irrational childhood fears
While it may seem obvious to you, it is sometimes necessary to give your child certain information that they need.
Children are about to discover the world. You have a great imagination and a lot of imagination. But the more information they have about certain things, the less fear and worry they are.
For example, if they are afraid of thunderstorms, explain how thunder and lightning occur. Remember, knowing this will help your child feel calmer and more secure.
3. Check the time before the digital media
You should also keep in mind that images from movies, video games, music videos, but also from the news can have negative effects and exacerbate irrational childhood fears.
For this reason, we recommend that you control the time for display devices and content as much as possible. Your child shouldn’t watch films that scare them, even if they’re their age!
4. Show confidence to alleviate irrational childhood fears
Your child can overcome irrational fears by showing them that you are not afraid yourself. Simply telling them not to be afraid can make the situation worse.
But when your child feels your confidence, they will feel they have nothing to fear. This is a great way to give your child courage to overcome irrational childhood fears.
5. Read books to him that address irrational childhood fears
Our final suggestion is to read children’s books that show scary situations to help your child overcome their fear.
This is a useful strategy that children can use to identify with a character who shares their fear. This shows them that there are other people out there who feel the same way.
It allows them to be more open about their fear. Putting fear into words will help alleviate the child’s worries.
Don’t forget that almost all children need help overcoming irrational childhood fears. This takes time, but these tips will help your child.
