Making kids cope with phobias

Discussion in 'Babies' started by remnant, May 4, 2017.

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  1. remnant

    remnant Member

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    Kids have a variety of phobias like the fear of the doc. Well, this has to do with adverse experiences with the jab. They have a way of transferring these phobias laterally. Its common to see kids crying their hearts out at the sight of a barber in a lab coat. Though they outgrow these phobias at some point, they remain etched in their subconscious and resurface in other aspects of their lives. How should one go about addressing this?
     
  2. Taliska

    Taliska Active Member

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    There's a difference between childhood fears and phobias. Phobias are by definition an irrational fear, like being afraid of stairs to the extent you live in a bungalow and won't leave the house in case you have to see a staircase. These normally take medical treatment to cure.

    Being scared of someone who hurt them, even if it is for their own good, is rational. The best way round it is to talk to them, make sure they know what is going on, and that they can tell the difference between a barber and a doctor. The other thing you can try is what we did: make going to the doctor fun. We had a chart with stars on it that he earned for being brave, and the doctor tends to give out lollipops. If you don't leave until he's happy again, there's no fears.
     
  3. Mika

    Mika Active Member

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    I agree with Taliska that The fears OP mentioned in their post are different from Phobia which are common in almost 99% children. I have yet to see a child who offers his arm for an injection (Even I still don't like that at this adult age) or a child sitting steadily in a salon chair. The children up to a certain age consider these things as something extra ordinary but get rid of their hesitation as the time passes by. Phobia as such is something different which is hard to get rid off and could stay even in adult age.
     
  4. Alexandoy

    Alexandoy Well-Known Member

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    It may not work all the time but assuring the child against the potential phobia can help most of the time. One example is the night light that the child cannot sleep when turned off. Encouraging the child to sleep in the dark will later on have a positive effect especially if the parents would explain the logic of the potential phobia.
     
  5. luri

    luri Member

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    Most of the phobias begin in early childhood. I know a girl who has spider phobia. Even when she hears the word spider, she cringes. When she was a child, she saw a spider swallowing an insect. Since then she began fearing spider. No matter what we teach, her fear does not disappear. Therefore, I believe you must take all precaution to stop your child getting exposed to potential phobias. Sometimes phobias are created by parents themselves. If the parents talks too much about ghosts and spirits, the child will develop phobia of ghosts and spirits. If they say, stop crying, a cop will take you away and they continue to say this for a long time, the child is likely to develop police phobia.
     
  6. Elsa

    Elsa Starlight Baby Employee Staff Member

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    You've hit it right in the head @luri. Sometimes parents are to blame for some of a child's fears or phobias. That is why I never disciplined my children using fear of ghosts (like some do) because I don't want them to become afraid of the dark. Sometimes though, there are just situations we can't prevent and this sticks to the child's mind. My 17-year-old son, for example, is afraid of spiders up to now. He said a spider fell on him when he was young and he never forgot about it. He cringes every time he sees one.
     

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