Young Parents Guide

Common fear and anxiety among young children

Posted on 11. May, 2009 by Eve in Baby & Toddler, Growing Child

It is normal for your toddler to be fearful.  Anxiety is a natural condition that helps human cope with new experiences and protects us from danger. Some toddlers are frightened of specific things such as dogs, the dark, sound of daddy vacuuming. My boy is afraid of the sound of thunder. He got really anxious when he see lightnings flashes.  Other kids are afraid of new situations or meeting new people. But as your kids are more secure in her identity, his  environment and her abilities, most of his fears will slowly fade away.

A baby will not be aware of the world at large. But as your baby grows older, he will realize that things can be unpredictable such as her playmate will grab her toys, parents do leave her for few hours etc. Remember anxiety in kids is norm, its basically toddler behaviour.

Separation anxiety – This is common kids of 9 to 18 months. A child may have attended child care and now going to kindergarten may also face separation anxiety. The relapse is often triggered by specific events such as starting at a new school, changing caregivers etc. As kids grows, they will understand time and distance better. He will realize daddy and mommy  is only going away for few hours .

Common fears - Some of the common fears are monster in the room, underneath the bed, the flush of toilet at night.  Some are triggered by actual incident such as reading scary books before bedtime. Sometimes, it could be the older child is scared of  sound of thunder and may result in the younger kid frightened of  the sound of thunder too!

Do not panic now. In fact, early anxieties are natural development processes, some are more obvious than others. Having anxiety about certain things is not only normal but it also helps the child behave in a safe way, away from danger, example fire.

However one should take note if your child is showing anxiety which is “overplayed and prolonged because this can affect the child’s learning abilities and social development from avoidance to outside world.