How to help your baby get rid of fears
It is known that most of the complexes and phobias of an adult come from childhood. So when your child says they are afraid of something, take it seriously and help them overcome their fears and feelings of anxiety.
We will show you how to recognize children’s fear and overcome it.
The baby begins to be afraid even in the womb. Nervous shocks, anxiety and anxiety of a pregnant woman are transmitted to the baby through the umbilical cord and placenta. Remember, the calmer and more peaceful you will behave while carrying the baby, the more beneficial it will be in the future psychological state of the baby. Also, the stressful course of pregnancy and childbirth can affect the child’s predisposition to fears.
For a harmonious and comfortable development, the newborn must be well-groomed, nourished and clean. But, of course, this is not enough for the calm state of mind of the baby. A caring, cozy mother nearby is what primarily protects the baby from feelings of danger and anxiety.
Closer to the year, children may have their first conscious fear. It usually appears in front of strangers. New faces, different from those of mom and dad, can bring a child to tears. To make acquaintance with a person previously unknown to the baby painless, it is better to do this without letting the baby out of his hands. After all, it is mom who is the guarantor of safety in front of such an interesting and immense world. Try to show the baby that his new acquaintance is not dangerous at all: in front of the excited baby’s eyes, you can hug or kiss him.
After a year, children begin to fear pain, especially after visiting a clinic or hospital. Injections, vaccinations, unpleasant medical procedures will please few people, especially a fragile child’s psyche. Therefore, when you and your baby go to donate blood again, tell him the story about a mosquito that will inject him a little. If, nevertheless, you fell into a daze after hearing the cry of your beloved, call the medical staff for help – usually they have a million ways to calm the child.
In the period from one to three years, fear of the dark and sleep alone can begin to attack. And there is nothing reprehensible in this. Even an adult often feels uncomfortable in an unlit place, to be sure about a child, for whom darkness is unknown, danger, unpredictability. Buy a baby night light for your baby, lie down next to him, sing a lullaby or read a fairy tale – so he will fall asleep more calmly. You can come up with a baby night substitute mom in the form of a new toy that will protect children’s sleep.
A little later, the fear of fairy-tale characters is added to this fear. Monsters, ghosts and scary cartoon characters will certainly crawl out from under the bed and take the child into their creepy world. In this situation, it is certainly important to filter the information that the child receives during the day. Be attentive to the selection of cartoons and fairy tales. Very often, the fear of a fictional character is provoked by the parents themselves, starting to intimidate the child with Baba Yaga or something like that. Do not aggravate the situation, try not to shake the psyche of your children with fabricated fears.
And, in general, while the baby has not yet learned to identify the feeling of anxiety as fear, it is better not to use the words “fear”, “fear”, “frighten” with it, thus you will only stir up the desire to be afraid in him.
How to relieve your baby of fears
You should start talking with your child about fears after three years, when he can clearly explain to you what scares him. Talk through the situation, share your childhood fears with your baby, and chase him away together. There are many playable ways to deal with fear. You can draw it, dazzle it, burn it, having previously described it on paper, even send it far, far away, put it on a boat and run it downstream. You can come up with anything, the main thing is for the kid to sincerely believe that he has said goodbye to fear forever.
Every child goes through age-related fears, and a warm and comfortable family atmosphere is the most effective way to cope with them and help a child become a self-confident, successful and self-sufficient person.