Scared Children
Taking care of scared children is not hard, but shouldn’t be overlooked…
Kids… they don’t have our thinking capacity. Not to mention about our experience in life. Most of us find children fears as being strange, absurd: any object, even the most harmless ones, could induce fear into our children (in their first five years).
But none of these manifestations of scared children is abnormal. They are simply irrational agitations in discovering the world (which comes as an instinct).
Phobias of loneliness, darkness, of strangers, of animals are the most common amongst children. Fear of dark (of night, of looking behind a curtain, etc) is kid’s worst nightmare although it can’t disorganize his life inducing disorders.
Fear of dogs, on the other hand, can lead to anxiety (phenomenon which gives birth to a feeling of an inner danger). Emotional or imaginative children often experience this type of fear (without a cause). In this case scared children must be treated gently, so that the anxiety will not grow, causing them not wanting to eat, sleep or urinate any more …
Some fears can seem abnormal because of the intensity with which it manifests (screaming, flushing, pallor) or because it persists. Thus the 8 year old child who needs the lamp turned on at night to be able to go to sleep is experiencing an absurd fear (the same with the kid that begins to cry just by looking at a dog from the distance). Fortunately these fears are not pathological.
A scared kid is always a concern to parents. However…When the child gets scared and the feeling intensifies or persists, parents are to be blamed in most cases:
“I’m going to give you to the dog and it will eat you if you don’t finish eating your meal!”. Some times parents talkabout their own fears and their children “catch” that.
I guess this is one of human being’s flaws: speaking from his point of view, unwillingly. I too some times “involve” myself in describing some situations but I try my best to remain objective. (I’m only human… 😀 )
So… the most dangerous fear is bizarre, intense (severe behavioral disorders) and persistent.
All phobias that reach the body must be carefully supervised because they could be a sign of schizophrenia. Never neglect a permanent state of anxiety- shuddering at the hearing of the lowest noise, shyness or excessive aggression, tics, stuttering, manias, fatigue signs – because they can be signs of a nervous disorder. In this case you should immediately contact your psychiatrist.
But what are the origins of fear?
Well… we can see that fear is linked with the process of knowing your life, discovering new things, realizing aspects. So to be without fear is abnormal, out of this world…
But when we think of education, it’s clear that this can be a starting point for a kid to grow his fear. Think about the ways of punishment used by most parents… The child could react in different manners: when he is sensitive and easy to impress, he will be scared for a long period of time of the idea of punishment.
Overcoming fears is easier when affection plays a major part in a child’s life. Be there for them!