When Your Child is Exposed to Something Scary

by Kori Rodley Irons | More from this Blogger

Many parents work hard to keep their child from being exposed to television shows, movies and stories that are inappropriate for their age and this often means things that are just too scary. No matter how much we try to protect and monitor, however, our young children may be exposed to something scary-a friend or relative tells a scary story, they see something accidentally on television or are witness to an accident, injury or other traumatic event. As parents, what can we do after the fact when our child has been frightened?

What you do will depend on the age of your child and what has happened. If an older sibling or visiting cousins tell your 2 year-old a scary story or try to convince him there are creatures living under his bed-that will create one problematic situation; if your child witnesses a car accident or has a classmate die or get seriously injured, that will create a very different kind of fear. Our first job as parents is to determine what has happened to cause the new fear and how our child is processing (or not processing) it already.

How is the fear manifesting itself? Has the child developed a fear of getting in a car, or of going to bed? What may seem like an irrational fear to you may very well have a logical beginning for the child. If your child has developed an intense fear or nervousness, try to find out what the cause of it is so you can begin to address those fears.

If talking things through, offering reassurance, reading books and getting helpful information do not help the child to put the fears aside, you may want to consider seeing a counselor or therapist. While there are books on just about every topic geared to all ages of children, some fears take a while to work through. It will likely take combination of talk therapy, play therapy, empowerment, reassurance and time for the child to get over a scary influence and your patience and understanding will be key.

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