Fear of children and external influences

How can parents avoid children being afraid? When is it considered that children's fears are a problem? How do media influence the acquisition of children's fears? The psychologist Silvia Alava , a specialist in Child Psychology, explains when the fears of children are a cause for concern and how we

How can parents avoid children being afraid? When is it considered that children's fears are a problem? How do media influence the acquisition of children's fears?

The psychologist Silvia Alava, a specialist in Child Psychology, explains when the fears of children are a cause for concern and how we can help them overcome them.

External influences on children's fears

What influences the acquisition of children's fears?We have to be very careful with what our children see. We can consider that a certain film or drawings are suitable for children, because it says they are for their age. However, then there are children that a certain monster or vampire that came out in the drawings or in the film, generates a lot of fear and insecurity. Do not forget that when they are small, they have a hard time distinguishing between reality and fiction, so be careful what children see.

What other aspects should we also take care of talking about fears?
Be careful also with the comments they hear. It turns out that we heard that I do not know who was stolen and we said saying, 'Look, what a job, they went into the house.' And we do not realize that there is a child with an authentic face of terror thinking 'If you have entered this gentleman's house, you can enter mine'. These habitual details can generate a lot of fear that 'something could happen to me', that something could happen.

Monsters, vampires ... are fashionable, both in movies and on television. To what extent can they create or worsen fear in children?Now monsters, vampires, magic games, magicians, bad guys that fly are very fashionable ... Be careful, because there are children who can be mature enough to see them, and nothing happens to them and they will not generate any fear, but others with situations of this type, messages of this type and, above all, with visual messages, can generate fears.

When is it considered that children's fears are a problem?There are stages in which evolutionarily speaking it is normal to be afraid, but if we start to see that the child stops doing certain things, that his level of anxiety or anxiety is already very high, that no matter how much I get angry and tell him: 'No, you have to sleep alone in your room', we see that it can not because it really gets fatal or that it is completely blocked, you have to start to realize that something may be happening. The fears do not have to interfere in daily life nor do they have to prevent the child from developing with absolute normality.

What should adults never do when a child is afraid?
What an adult should never do when the child is afraid is to convey a sense of insecurity and concern. When the child is very afraid, he does not know how to deal with that situation. When they start to grow older, there is a whole series of irrational ideas that are in their head and that are feeding back fear. Their main source of security and trust are generally their reference adults, their father and mother.

When does a child need professional help because of his fear? Where is the limit?Children with fear become completely pale, start with tachycardia, become paralyzed, and have a hard time. When we see that you can not face it, it is best to put yourself in the hands of a specialist, especially because there is one thing that should be highlighted and that is that the fears are expansive.

Marisol Nuevo. Editor of Guiainfantil.com