Perhaps your child is dealing with fears of some common scenarios that everyone will encounter at some point in life. You want to help them build their resilience. Yet you don’t want to push them too far out of their comfort zone. You’re wondering how you can help them gradually overcome these fears and get more comfortable dealing with challenging situations.
As a parent, you can play an active role in building your child’s capacity to deal with fear. You can’t snap your fingers and make their fears disappear, but you can help them overcome these anxieties on their own timeline. Here are a few strategies that might work for your child.
Unpack Their Fears
Knowledge is power and the fear of a particular situation is often a fear of the unknown. For children, the world can be an anxiety-inducing place because they are relatively powerless, and they know very little about their surroundings. Outside of their own household and family, everything is unfamiliar.
When your child tells you that they are afraid of something, take the time to listen. Let them ask questions and talk to them about the subject. Take their fears seriously, but be willing to explain why what they’re afraid of is typically not so scary after all. When your child has a deeper understanding of the subject, they might feel calmer.
Demonstrate Safety
Sometimes, you can physically demonstrate to your child that a particular situation is nothing to fear. For instance, many young children are quite afraid of getting shots. You could consider taking your child to a doctor’s appointment with you to show them that you can safely receive a shot without being hurt.
While this will not work in every situation, your child may project their own fear on to you, and get upset because they’re worried you’ll be hurt, but it may be worth a try.
Take Small Steps
Your child doesn’t have to tackle all of their fears overnight. You may be able to break down your child’s fears and address them by taking small steps. For example, if your child is scared of the dark, you could practice turning off all the lights in their room together, or doing this in each room of the house.
Offer Encouragement, But Be Patient
Encouraging your child to face their fears is a good decision. Your child will likely not go out of their way to overcome their fears on their own, especially if they are young. As a parent, it’s your responsibility to support your child in this area.
But remember, you need to be patient. You might get frustrated if it seems like your child is making progress, and then seems like they’re getting scared again. However, you cannot show this to your child, otherwise, they might worry that they’re disappointing you.
Allow Gradual Independence
Fear is often rooted in powerlessness. It’s true that young children are only capable of doing so much on their own. But by giving them small opportunities to exercise their independence at an age-appropriate level, you can help your child gain confidence in their capabilities.
Look for chances to grant your child agency in their choices. It could be as simple as letting them choose between new foods to try, allowing them to decide which chores they want to do first, or giving them the chance to pick their outfit (even if you think it looks a bit silly)!
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Are you struggling to help your child overcome their fears? Working with a therapist can help. Reach out to us today to discuss your options for scheduling your first session. Anxiety therapy can help you and your child!