Dear parents, many of you might be stressing over how to react and handle your children when they suddenly seem to be terrified of something. Children like to live in their own little fantasy world most of the times. We never know what and how something might affect their minds.
If we see around, fears and phobias are commonly seen to be developed at this young age. They could be rational or completely illogical. Whatever the case, we are here with you and your kiddo in your battle against these phobias. Have a quick look at these few tips.
1. Talk to them and give them tips to cope.
Get to know the exact fear your children face by talking to them. Now, teach them a few tricks to manage the anxiety. For eg. If your children have a phobia of darkness, ask them to think about something cheerful or positive when in dark. Thinking about a loved one or teaching a few breathing techniques could also help a lot.
2. Reward them for courage
Whenever children come running towards us out of fear, our natural response is to cuddle them with love. We want them to feel safe. But this occurring repeatedly is indirectly like rewarding them for being weakling. Instead, encourage them to face the fear. Reward them with your love when you see them taking even a little step towards braving the fear.
3. Go ahead one little step at a time
Having a fully developed fear or phobia is like a huge mountain in front of them. We simply cannot vanish it all at once or in a single incident. The secret is facing a little bit of it every day. Let children face milder forms of it first and learn to handle them. Then facing the actual fear will seem to be an easy task by the end. For intense, if your children are afraid of darkness, practice sitting with him in a half-lit room. Then as days pass by reducing the intensity of light sources from tube light to torch to a candle. This will greatly help in reducing anxiety.
4. Develop a positive imagination towards the fear
The imaginative part of the brain is the most responsible for building up the phobia. We could build up positive imaginations and thoughts in them regarding the subject. We could talk them into positivity, make them read good story books, watch friendy videos and movies related to the topic.
5. Pair them up with friends who are not afraid
Young children often imitate each other’s activities when in a group. Let them do the activity surrounded by friends and other kids who are not afraid. Their natural instincts to try to fit into the group will encourage them to take up the challenge of their fears.
Don’t worry! Many times, you might not be able to completely get rid of the phobias. But trust us, you can surely manage them. In fact, some amount of fear is very necessary to help your children stay alert and safe. So relax! Do share with us how your little superheroes finally dealt with their phobias and fears.