Archive for November 25th, 2009

Understanding Your Child’s Phobias and What You Can do to Assist

Many people, if not all, feel fear at some point of their life; the difference between well-adjusted people and those who aren’t is that well changed people know how to use their fears for their gain. Children are not safe from apprehension and dread, although this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Some research on humanistic therapy even states that a little alarm and disquiet can be helpful for children in their emotional development. Humanistic Sandtray Therapy can help people reconnect to who they really are.

When people talk about age appropriate fears, they speak of the fact that children develop fears and then get over them because they have outgrown these fears only to develop new ones which they will also outgrow one day. This age-appropriate fear isn’t something that should alarm parents, but it’s something that they should know how to deal with to prevent these fears from becoming total, actual phobias. It would also play an important role in your child’s development of stronger emotional muscles; a child who has never learned to conquer fear and anxiety is at a huge drawback because this truly is part of life and there is no escaping it if you plan to participate in life rather than just merely being seated and observing.

Children typically survive of their fears because they find ways to cope with these fears themselves, and are oftentimes more able to make sense of these fears in their own pace. Many parents need help in detecting genuine phobia from simple childhood fears; visiting therapists can help them make sense out of the apparent senselessness of such fears. What’s important is that you are able to ascertain, probably with professional help, whether your child’s phobia is real or just anxiety.

Taking your child to play therapy can also become part of the solution if you are willing to consider it. The fact is that play therapy can be very influential in supporting your child face their phobias on their own terms and pace, and eventually make sense out of it. During play therapy, your child will be more at ease with the thought of confronting frights and all at once, you can learn more about what to do to help support your child.

It’s true that facing one’s fears may become an extensive voyage, but it’s better to face this journey with your child rather than have your child go through it alone, or never go through it at all. As a parent, you may think that just ignoring your child’s phobia will “heal” him or her of it; nothing can be farther than the truth because the last thing that your child needs is to have somebody neglect, deride, or belittle his or her feelings. At times it’s really best to seek professional help when dealing with children’s phobia; therapists are trained professionals that can give you more awareness regarding what you can do to actually help your child out of the phobia.

Being in disagreement or arranging your life to get used to your child’s phobia is not the best way to handle this situation. Your child will never live down irrational fear by eloping from it or denying that it exists; this is something that should be dealt with, and you as a parent can help your child do just that.