How To Help A Child Who Is Afraid Of The Dark, In 5 Steps
Fear of the dark is one of the most common fears in boys and girls, even into adolescence. As always, fear in itself cannot be said to be a bad thing, but in any case it can be harmful if it transforms into a pattern of avoidant behavior that appears when there is no reason to be alert or to look for somewhere else. sure. In this article we will see several tips on how to act on children with fear of the dark to help them and alleviate the discomfort they feel when staying in places without light.
The first thing we must do when addressing this issue is to understand the logic behind the child’s experience of fear. The fear of the dark is something acquired, that is, an involuntary learning, not something that arises innately in the minor and that must then be corrected. This implies that, in the same way that it has been learned, it can also be unlearned.
AND What’s the point of fearing the lack of light?? Vision is one of the senses that we use the most when receiving stimuli from the outside, and in fact the part of the brain that we use to process visual information is very large. Therefore, when our sight is blocked, we feel much more disoriented and dependent on others or the resources we can find.
In the case of children, To this feeling of uncertainty we must add the feeling of helplessness, exposure to possible dangers and helplessness. Because? Because in little ones magical thinking is much more frequent.
What is magical thinking?
Magical thinking is a way of thinking that is based on assuming that reality includes entities capable of transforming or adopting forms that we confuse with inanimate objects and that, consequently, surround us without us realizing it, sometimes directing our destinies or simply influencing what happens to us indirectly.
It is based, ultimately, on place a purposeful entity behind the events that occur since we still do not understand how our surroundings work.
So, what is scary is not so much the darkness itself, but the fact that through the protection it offers, children are left far from the protection of adults and they can be victims of the misdeeds of any “monster” or malicious entity.
Educate children against fear of the dark
Now that we understand a little better why there are children afraid of the dark, it is time to propose solutions. Although it is very unlikely that overnight a child will go from being very afraid of the dark to not feeling any discomfort or a certain level of anxiety when staying in a place with little light, we can make that level of fear diminishes greatly, enough so that it is not a significant problem.
1. Don’t ridicule their fears
From the perspective of an adult, fear of the dark may seem absurd, but, as we have seen, for children it can make sense. Therefore, it is advisable not to laugh at these fears, although obviously nor does it have to be shown that there are reasons to have that fear
The key is to show understanding and allow the little one in the house to explain their fears while feeling understood. If we laugh at those worries, We will only reaffirm that the fear of the dark is not alone and you don’t have much protection against that feeling, but if you can express yourself, that feeling of helplessness won’t be there.
2. Regulate the pieces of fiction you are exposed to
Obviously, if a child is regularly exposed to pieces of fiction that show monsters or murderers attacking in the dark, This idea will be on your mind more often Supervising the series, videos and movies that a young child watches is positive if we help prevent fears or wrong ideas that could harm them from arising.
3. Do not use myths or fear of monsters to make him obey
Children’s belief system, like that of any person, is an interconnected whole. Therefore, it makes no sense for you to say that there is no reason to worry about darkness if at the same time you feed the fear of the “bogeyman” or the “bogeyman” who takes away bad children. You have to maintain consistency
4. Helps you go to sleep feeling sleepy
The simple act of going to sleep and not going through scary experiences for a significant amount of time makes children more accustomed to the dark, because they know that they have been in the dark many times and, without having adopted any “special defensive measures” no monster has attacked them.
So, some tricks you can use is to make sure that they don’t look at screens or bright light sources in the two to three hours before bed, that they actually go to bed when they’re sleepy, and that they haven’t just been exercising. before.
5. If you have a pet, get it involved
The protection offered by a pet such as a cat or dog can be an intermediate step between constant parental protection and absolute autonomy. In any case, It is much preferable to an adult standing at the foot of the bed “standing guard”, a fact that only reinforces the fear by making the moments in which one is alone stand out more.
