The Role Of Fear In Children

A blustery wind breeze through the window; a scratching noise beneath the wooden floors; a dark spectral shadow past the hallway light; a gasping whisper crying your name from across the room. These are just a few of the numerous manifestations of fear most people have already gone through. Have you ever been so afraid to let your legs hang off the bed, fearing that monsters would grab them from under your bed? Or letting the lights stay on worrying that if you turn them off, a wild, monstrous creature would come crawling up your side? Some say it’s foolish, some consider it a hoax, but for several people, particularly the little children, they believe it’s how the monsters appear at night. But the question is, how and why do children develop these forms of anxieties, fears and horrors? Almost every toddler has acquired that certain terror of the beast lurking in the closet, or the freak from under the bed, or even the boogeyman who gives the most horrible nightmares. Children go through the stage of assimilated fear of almost everything. They are creatures of habit. As a result, any unusual sound or sight could

Children may obtain certain fears from a traumatic experience. Some become fearful simply by watching another child acting scared. And some fears rise with no clear event or incident that had caused the fear. Children's fears are often associated with avoidance, discomfort, and physical complaints, such as rapid heartbeat, stomach distress, sweaty palms, or trembling. In spite of the uncertainty of the existence of the appearances of the monsters that little children are telling us, we should always be able to recognize their worth and give importance to their encounters. We have the role of comforting and guiding little children about the boogeyman, the ghosts, the vampires, the wolves, the goblins, the witches, and all other hideous creatures that they consider