Psychologists consider the very first emotion of a person to fear. After passing through the birth canal, the baby embraces the horrible horrors. The objects of children's fears are very diverse and directly depend on the degree of development, imagination, emotional sensitivity, propensity to worry, insecurity and the child's life experience.
Objects of age-related childhood fears
Almost all children are subject to age-related fears. Already in the first months of life, the baby begins to fear sharp sounds, noise, strangers. Therefore, it is necessary to create a special atmosphere in this period of life. On this depends, whether the fear of crumbs will develop in the future, turn into anxiety, multiply or the baby will be able to overcome it now.
At the child after 5 months the main object of fears most often become strangers. Also, children of this age may experience fear at some unusual situation, when they see unfamiliar objects. In children of 2-3 years, the objects of fears are usually animals. And after 3 years very many children start to be afraid of darkness because at this age they have a rapid development of imagination.
Often the objects of children's fears are fabulous characters. For example, sorcerers, Koschey the Immortal, Baba Yaga, etc. Therefore, in no case is it advisable to tell children terrible stories, to allow watching movies that do not fit in age, and even more so - you can not scare other people's uncles, militiamen, etc. It is desirable during this period to be with the child more tenderly. Often remind and show the child how you love him and make it clear that whatever happens, you will always protect him.
In general, childhood fears appear in 3-6 years. However, many childhood fears can be a hidden alarm. In such cases, the elimination of the object of fear does not eliminate the cause of the alarm.
In the older preschool age, abstract thinking starts to develop intensively in children, a sense of kinship, at home, life "values" is formed, so the number of children's fears becomes larger and much more serious. A child may have fear for the health of their loved ones, a fear of losing them. In the family, the fears of adults are transmitted to the child. In the presence of fears in parents, there is a high probability of occurrence of new objects of fears in children. Therefore, try to maintain close positive emotional contact with your child.
An object of fears in a child may be a conflict between parents. And the older the child, the more his emotional sensitivity increases. Try never to quarrel and not swear in front of the child. In those families where the child becomes the epicenter of parental anxieties and cares, the fear of the child may not correspond to the requirements of the parents.
With the beginning of school attendance, children have a sense of responsibility, duty, duty, which form the moral aspects of the person. "Social fears" can become objects of fear. A child may be afraid because of fear of being condemned or punished, not by those who are valued, respected and understood. In such situations, the child constantly monitors himself, is in emotional tension. The object of fears in children can be and bad marks in school, the fear of being punished at home. Try not to scold the child, but to help him overcome fear. Support self-esteem of the child, increase self-esteem.
Various natural disasters (flood, fire, hurricane, earthquake, etc.) can become objects of children's fears. Try to restore the child's peace of mind, calm him, rooting a sense of security.
Each child can have his own, individual object of childish fears, so take a closer look at your baby, avoid conflict situations.