What Are Childhood Fears And Which Are The Most Common?
Fears are very useful emotions that for hundreds of thousands of years have helped us avoid all types of threats throughout the evolution of our species, and to be cautious in the face of unknown, risky or dangerous situations.
Now, one of the characteristics of emotions is that they are not limited by the logic of reason, and that is why they sometimes appear or disappear in ways that get us into trouble, especially if we do not know how to manage them. And in the case of fear, we are relatively prone to suffer from it in situations in which it does not bring us benefits: moments in which we are not exposed to real dangers, but, in any case, only to imagined dangers.
Taking into account that in the first years of human life our capacity for abstract and rational thinking is limited, and that we have little information about how the world works, it is not surprising that many boys and girls frequently suffer from childhood fears. These are stressful and distressing experiences that, if not adequately addressed by parents, can damage their quality of life and make them not dare to learn on their own. Therefore, in this article We will talk about the most common childhood fears and their characteristics, so that it is easy to understand why they occur.
In the early stages of child development, it is very common for the boy or girl to develop specific fears that are more or less intense in line with their personality traits and way of being; fears that make you avoid supposedly dangerous, risky or unknown situations.
These fears can be experienced in objectively harmless situations during growth something that is perfectly normal and that can favor their correct intellectual and emotional development.
In a certain sense, childhood fears are useful: they serve to prevent the ignorance of the little ones in the house from exposing them to dangerous situations, and to prevent them from going too far from their parents (or in any case, from doing so through contexts that they already know well).
Many of these fears, however, can be sustained over time, which in the long run generates a very negative impact on both the physical and psychological health of the child or adolescent.
In this article we will focus on those maladaptive fears that significantly affect the mental health of the boy or girl, as well as the main characteristics of the most common childhood fears.
There are a series of childhood fears that tend to be shared with greater prevalence among young boys and girls and pre-adolescents; Let’s see what they are.
Most common childhood fears
Intense fears in children tend to appear most commonly between the ages of 3 and 6; However, at other ages, maladaptive and exacerbated fears can also be experienced that clearly affect the physical or psychological health of the child.
Because childhood fears can change as the child’s development evolves, here we present the main fears associated with each stage of growth of the boy or girl.
1. Between 8 and 9 months of age
Babies who are between 8 and 9 months old usually have great fear or strong anxiety of strangers. This stage is when they begin to develop the ability to identify familiar faces; however, the faces of unknown people make them afraid and disturb them
This fear can be solved by parents, helping the baby to feel safe and having him sleep in his own room from 5 months onwards so that he does not develop excessive dependency.
2. Between 10 months and 3 years
Around age 3, babies usually develop a fear of abandonment that can vary in intensity depending on their personal characteristics. This fear or separation anxiety manifests itself whenever they have to separate from their parents and causes them great discomfort
This generally happens when we leave the baby at daycare or when his parents have to separate from him for a few hours. At these moments the child may refuse to let his parents leave and cry profusely.
Although this reaction may be normal in some children, the problem can arise when this fear of abandonment lasts for several years and continues to present a fear of separation from their parents.
3. At 4 years old
Around the age of 4, the fear of the dark usually appears, one of the most shared by boys and girls around the world, the catalyst for which is being in dark rooms without any light to see your surroundings
This is a fear that we can solve by leaving a small light on in the child’s room and that can become a problem if it lasts more than 2 or 3 years in the child’s life.
4. Up to 6 years old
Between 4 and 6 years old, fear of unreal things or beings is common such as the presence of monsters or any other fantastic or mythological creature.
This fear is due to the fact that the child is not yet able to distinguish what is real from what is not, which is why they may feel threatened by all kinds of terrifying creatures under their bed or inside their bedroom closet.
5. From 7 years old
Boys and girls over 7 years old They begin to develop fears about things that can happen in real life, no matter how unlikely they may be
For example, at these ages they usually fear that there is a stranger at home who could harm them, that a loved one could die and that a traffic accident or a natural disaster will happen.
In addition to that, some other childhood fears that are triggered at that age have to do with the fear of exams or academic results and the fear of not fitting in with classmates.
6. During adolescence and pre-adolescence
During the period of adolescence and pre-adolescence, it is common for fears to be mostly related to social issues.
These fears are usually the fear of not having friends, the fear of one’s own physical image, the fear of not fitting in at school or institute or the fear of failing in academics, sports or in love.
