It is difficult to find at least one child who never felt fear. It is normal since for each age there is a typical set of the most widespread fears. But why there are fears which are beyond age of the child and last months, and even years?
The fear is a set of psychological and physiological reactions to a life-threatening irritant (real or imagined). When the person is afraid, in his organism there are sharp physiological changes: pulse, breath becomes more frequent, sweating amplifies, pressure increases and gastric juice is emitted.
The self-preservation instinct is the cornerstone of fear: we are afraid of what can cause us irreparable damage. Certainly, not always fears are justified and really menacing to our health and reason. Why, in the early childhood, we begin to be afraid absolutely not of dangerous things / beings?
The children's fear can be created in two ways: in a real situation of danger or in the course of communication with other people. In the course of activity the child gains the individual experience in area of the injuring situations. It can be falling, a burn, a fright at the sight of a large animal, a disease, etc. In this case the child really is in a danger situation; he realizes that these situations can become threat for life, and the real fear is formed. The fear imagined, as a rule, is formed because of the inaccurate use by adults of various literary turns or cautions: "you will fall – it will be sick!", "you will not eat porridge – the angry wolf will come!", etc. the Child with the increased uneasiness takes everything literally and very very much to heart. He will really think that some terrible imagined wolf will come and will threaten his life. Children's phobias are so formed.
Except similar expressions, formation of fear is influenced by an uneasy talk of adults in the presence of the child. Quarrels between parents, scandals, a talk about various troubles affect perception by the child of the world around. Movies – one more frequent reason of appearance of phobias. Parents should control as long and what transmissions are watched by the child.
The task of parents is to notice alarm and fear of the child and to direct all the forces to elimination of an illness.