When the fear of children becomes a problem

Fear is very common in children. And there are many types of fears in childhood: fear of being left alone, fear of monsters, darkness ... Up to that point, it's normal. Fear is even necessary, as it teaches children to be cautious in the face of possible external threats. However, fear can also beco

Fear is very common in children. And there are many types of fears in childhood: fear of being left alone, fear of monsters, darkness ... Up to that point, it's normal. Fear is even necessary, as it teaches children to be cautious in the face of possible external threats.

However, fear can also become a problem for children. When it is a fear that the child can not control and makes them lose control, fear can turn into a panic attack, or even expand and grow in the form of other fears.Psychologist Silvia Álava explains when the fear of children becomes a problem for them.

We explain when the fear of children becomes a problem

We have to think that fears can be normal, and can be part of children's lives without problems, but they can also be traumatic for them. When? When it is a fear that interferes with the child's daily life. For example, in these cases:

- When the child is not able to get up at night to go alone to the bathroom.

- When the child is not able to stay alone on the top floor of a two-story house.

- When the child asks his brother for help to accompany him anywhere.

- When the child is not able to cross a corridor if he does not turn on all the lights.

These are all little symptoms that indicate that the child may need help. Fears in the end end up being expansive. If before a fear you do not face it and you end up overcoming it, and you prefer to avoid it, that fear becomes generalized. That is to say: 'since I no longer face fear or overcome it, I believe that I am no longer going to be able to overcome it, and that the only way to relax and not have anxiety, is precisely not to confront him'. And in the end the child ends up having fear of more things.

For example: those people who are afraid of flying, and stop doing it ... and then they are afraid to go by train ... and then to go by car. And they end up deciding not to travel. The usual thing is that when fears are not overcome, they become generalized and end up creating other 'little fears'.

How to disassemble the fear of children to monsters in 3 steps

Fear of monsters: it is a very common fear in childhood. What should we do?

1. First, see how the room is decorated and what dolls it has. If you have any monster that could scare you, we should take it out of the room and replace it with more 'nice' drawings and dolls for them.

2. The second thing to do enseñar is to teach the child to get that monster out of his head. We must disassemble all that fear at a cognitive level. We must get the child to realize that the monster does not really exist, but only exists in his head. Y 3. And finally, once the fear is removed, we must replace it with an image that is more pleasant.

For example: every time the child thinks about the monster, he must replace it with another thought, something that the child likes a lot, like a memory of the beach, a soccer match, an encounter with the cousins ​​...