CHILDREN’S FEARS

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1031, 23 July 1930, Page 5

CHILDREN’S FEARS

AND THE CAUSE AND APPLY THE REMEDY The fears of children are often misunderstood by grown-ups, who have forgotten how often molehills took on the proportions of mountains in their own young eyes. Most childish fears have their origin in suggestion, this suggestion being the outcome of remarks made by the unthinking adult and registered unconsciously in the brain of the child. Fear of the dark is a typical example of this. "Now you won’t be afraid when, mother puts the light out, because boys must be brave, you know." How often we hear some such reman,. The normal child would never think of being afraid if the idea were not put into his head. The seed having been planted, the idea flourishes according to the vividness of the individual imagination. Then the second part of his mother’s sentence comes back to him and, if he is a sensitive child, he suffers agonies rather than appear a coward in her eyes. The fear of the unknown is another bogey which worries many little people. They are not naturally venturesome, perhaps, and have always lived a sheltered existence, and so anything new sets up a queer panic. This is often marked in the matter

of unaccustomed food. Children stubbornly refuse to touch it, and a nonunderstanding mother or nurse may punish them for their supposed naughtiness, when all the time it is this very real terror of the unknown which has seized them. The complete confidence of such children must be gained, and they must be encouraged to speak openly of their fears, for a sympathetic listener will prove half the battle in dispelling them. Then there.is the fear of animals, which some children show. This is almost entirely due to the warning to be careful lest the dog bite or the cat scratch. Or it may be that the little one senses a certain shrinking from a horse or cow when he is out with an adult companion. This fear is a sad one if it gets a strong hold, because it debars the child from many playmates. Besides, it is an unjust attitude, for rarely will any domestic animal deliberately injure a child. Fear of people is often demonstrated by extreme shyness. A fright caused by some strange person bending over the baby’s cot, and suddenly cutting out his familiar horizon, may account for this. The wise parent will take the child very patiently and slowly along the path which will ultimately lead him away from this fear and teach him to seek rather than avoid his own kind. Childish fears must be studied, because they have to be counteracted as early as possible if they are not to leave their mark in after life.