Fears of Childhood

New Zealand Listener, Volume 17, Issue 424, 8 August 1947, Page 8

Fears of Childhood

PROGRAMME from 4YA _ about child psychology, printed as "Children’s Tears,’ turned out to be concerned with Children’s Fears, and in it Mrs. D. K. Pellow dealt with her subject in general and particular. Most parents are aware, by now, that all children exhibit basic fears (with small children, the two main fears are fear of falling, and fear of ‘a loud noise), and that ridicule and punishment are decidedly not the ways for dealing with such things. Fears, too, may be conditioned by the behaviour of the parents, and the child who sees Mum run screaming from a mouse will naturally conclude that mice are dangerous, feafful animals. Methods of dealing with already established fears were briefly indicated in this talk (fear of being in the dark is probably a very common fear in children, and requires more imaginative treatment on the parents’ part than the usual "Rubbish!" methods)? Mrs. Pellow’s casehistories would have been amusing had they not dealt with so serious a subject. Particularly endearing was the smal girl with an inordinate terror of bagpipes, . who did not learn until many years later that they were a musical instrument, and not, as she had imagined, an animal being tortured.