Tame Your Child’s Fears and Worries

Kids have fears. Some are warranted and some are not. Maybe your child fears the monster that (doesn’t) live in his closet or under his bed or maybe he fears being away from home for longer than a night. Whatever your child’s fears, it can be worrisome to you to realize that you are raising a child who worries often. Some kids simply worry more than others and it might make you wonder if they suffer from a lack of self-confidence. Here are a few tips that will help you stop your children from worrying as much and hopefully allow them to become a little more confident.

Ocean or Mud Puddle

Or dinosaur or lizard or rhinoceros or ant; whatever you want to use in this example, use it. When your child seems anxious, worried or stressed, go ahead and play a game with her. Ask her if her problem is a mountain or a mole hill (or whatever you decide). This gives her the opportunity to think about what’s bothering or worrying her and put a distinct size on the issue. Realizing that what’s bothering her is actually not that big might help her stop the worrying and handle the situation with confidence.

Parent Your Child’s Needs

Your child’s sense of worry can be directly tied to the amount of time he sleeps at night, to how hungry he is or how sick he feels. If your child seems to worry a lot, try sending him to bed earlier at night so he gets more sleep. Offer him a second helping of vegetables or fruit with meals in case he’s just hungrier than usual.

Make a Tool

Sometimes all it takes to ease the worries of a child is a tool. For example, if there are monsters in his room, he might need you to come up with some monster spray and incorporate it into his nightly bedtime ritual. Go around his room and spray water from a bottle – or monster spray as you will make him believe – under his bed, in the closet and around the windows to assure him that his room will remain monster free all night.