Fear In Children

Most children will struggle with fears of one kind or another at different times throughout their childhood. “Fears are actually natural and helpful developmental milestones,” says Betsy Brown Braun, author of Just Tell Me What To Say: Sensible Tips and Scripts for Perplexed Parents. “They help kids work out issues that are part of growing up.” (Hill, 2010) New fears often appear just as children are in the midst of making a developmental leap, whether that leap be a greater understanding of how the world works or newfound independence that leaves them feeling scared, insecure or vulnerable.

Of course, some of these fears can drive parents absolutely bonkers – especially when your child crawled out of bed for the fifth night in a row to escape a monster that, as you’ve already explained 4 other times, can’t exist. So for your sanity, we’ve assembled this information to help parents and caretakers address just about every fear a child may come down with.

General information on childhood fears & phobias:

  • Common childhood fears: What’s normal for kids?
  • What causes children to become fearful?
  • Are fears in children a sign of abuse?
  • How to deal with a child’s fears
  • Overcoming fear in children

Information on dealing with specific childhood fears:

  1. Fear of the dark in children
  2. Fear of monsters
  3. Fear of animals
  4. Fear of dogs
  5. Fear of bugs & insects
  6. Fear of spiders
  7. Fear of bees & wasps
  8. Fear of germs / germophobia
  9. Hypochondria/illness fears
  10. Fear of food
  11. Fear of choking/swallowing
  12. Fear of water
  13. Fear of bathtubs or drains
  14. Fear of flying
  15. Fear of heights
  16. Fear of loud noises
  17. Fear of thunderstorms
  18. Fear of school
  19. Fear of failure
  20. Fear of death (This link takes you to our death & bereavement book.)
  21. Fear of people, crowds & strangers
  22. Fear of amputees/disabled people
  23. Fear of people of different races
  24. Fear of clowns
  25. Fear of the doctor
  26. Fear of the dentist (this link takes you to our Health & Medical area.)
  27. Fear of policeman/people in uniform

See also: