6 Things You Should Do If Your Child Is Afraid
Children, especially when they are younger, are often afraid (of the dark, going out into the street, strangers, etc.); There are many situations that can produce different fears in the child. Here are some of the things to do if your child is scared.
What is essential in these cases is that parents help with their attitude to overcome their children’s fears, respecting and, above all, understanding why they have those fears, and teaching them to overcome them.
What things should you do if your child is afraid? How can you help him get over them? For these and other questions you can find the answer later.
Things to do if your child is afraid
When the child is feeling fear for something, someone or some circumstance, as a parent, you can act according to these tips:
- Have to offer understanding and support. Make your child understand that you can help him overcome his fears.
- It is important to understand him and put yourself in his place. Here you can tell him that fear, in some circumstances, is normal and helps, but sometimes that fear has no reason.
- Ask him why he is afraid and what he is afraid of, and explain the reasons why his fears have no reason for being.
- Explain and make him understand, reasoning with him, that he is out of danger, and that you are always with him.
- Use breathing and relaxation techniques to teach you to calm down when you have a fear episode.
- You always have to face your fears with him. For example, if he is afraid of the dark, you will be with him for a while in the dark, so he can see that it is okay to be in the dark. You should never prevent him from facing what he is afraid of because, in this way, he will realize that his fears have no foundation.
What not to do if your child is afraid
Most children are afraid, and this is unavoidable, but if, as a parent, you give them support and patience, fear will not be a problem for them. If the child trusts and has security in his parents, their help and their support, he will more easily solve the problem of fear. Some recommendations to help children overcome their fears are as follows.
If your child expresses fear of something, don’t laugh
If you tease or ridicule the child when he is afraid, he will lose all confidence in you and that would not be positive to overcome the fears. Do not say phrases like: “Aren’t you ashamed to have these fears?” “You are too old to be afraid” or “Don’t be silly, other children like you are not afraid of that.” If you use these phrases, the little one will stop counting the fears or fears that they have and also will not help them to stop having them.
Tell scary stories to scare children
If you tell stories of ogres, ghosts, witches, vampires and werewolves, especially before going to bed, you will go to sleep with that feeling of fear. If he likes that theme, you have to tell him that these characters do not exist in reality and that they are only part of the stories.
Do not force the child to go through situations that he fears
Fears do not end up facing them only once, it is necessary to face them progressively. It is important that the child gradually gets used to the situation he fears, because, if you force him to face it suddenly, the only thing that can happen is that the fear intensifies.
Don’t ignore her fears or lie to her about them.
The child needs to have security and trust in the parents. For this reason, you cannot tell him, if he is afraid of the needle when they are giving him a vaccine, that it will not hurt, because, surely, it will hurt him and, then, you will be contributing to him being more afraid of him.
You have to be honest with him and explain that this puncture is necessary and, even if it hurts a little, it will go away immediately. The important thing is to prepare him to face the situation that causes him fear.
Never transmit your own fears to children
If you are afraid of a certain thing (spiders, mice, rats, etc.), you can transmit it to your child by seeing how you act in front of those animals. The way you face your fears will make the child follow the same pattern in those situations.
Don’t say “chicken” or “coward”
If he is afraid of any situation, do not call him a “coward” or ridicule him. That will only make the situation worse and make you feel insecure, lonely, and misunderstood.
So what should you do if your child is scared?
You already know some things to do if your child is afraid and what not to do. It would be convenient to consider teaching the child the subject of fear from an early age as another learning. You can use stories about children overcoming their fears to read at night before bed, for example.
You should never avoid situations that cause fear, but you should not force it either. If the fear is too crippling, it may be wise to seek professional help.
