AUTOGRAPHS

Comprehending the Best Ways to Help Your Child Set Free of Phobias

It’s quite normal to be terrified of some things in life; in fact, the best way to set borders and restrictions to keep your self safe and healthy is by developing healthy fears. Being afraid is not the same as being powerless and hindered by your fears, and oftentimes it’s during one’s childhood that the line between the two is uncleared. Studies on humanistic therapy and child psychology show that fear also acts no different way for children as it does for adults and that children do develop age appropriate fears but eventually do recover from them. Sandtray Therapy provides clients an active, nonverbal, indirect, and symbolic experience of rediscovering visions, hopes, and dreams.

It’s accepted and even healthy for children to feel fear so that they will understand their limits and what pushing the boundaries of those limits can result to. For instance, babies undergo a stage where they are restless and timid of other people that don’t look familiar to them, toddlers are anxious about the first day of school because they are afraid to be separated from their parents, teenagers are anxious about acceptance by their peers, and so on. The role of parents in helping children overcome their phobia involves understanding what kind of performance is beneficial for their child and which isn’t going to be effective or which will in fact worsen the situation.

As children conquer their fears by stages, they begin to acquire the self-belief to venture further out of their comfort zone. For example, parents who are tired of dealing with their child’s phobia of the dark may be tempted to order the child to sleep without lights which appears like it solves the problem for the meantime, but in reality it really doesn’t solve anything by any means. It’s not normal for children to be extremely fearful of being left alone several years after the first day of school; this fear of stranger may have evolved into a phobia as opposed to being just a normal kind of fear.

Parents of younger children who have phobias can be aided by testing play therapy. You’ll be surprised at how play therapy can help your child get past his or her phobia; in play therapy, children will often play out symbols of their fears like giant spiders or a large and creepy stranger. It’s also vital to take in that parents can learn a lot through their children’s play therapy sessions because therapists usually encourage parent contribution.

Neglecting your child’s feelings about their phobia may be a very counterproductive thing to do because not only does it solve nothing of the original problem, it also gives your child the message that you don’t take into account what scares him or her. In addition to the games and activities that parents can do with their children, parents can also ascertain how to affirm their child’s effective attributes in order to help them overcome their phobias. Parents can also know what kind of behavior from them will be damaging to their children’s development. At times it’s really best to seek professional help when dealing with children’s phobia; therapists are trained professionals that can give you more awareness regarding what you can do to actually help your child out of the phobia.

Most phobias don’t just go away and disappear; it takes courage and the right kind of support from the right people to be able to get rid of it. Help your child overcome his or her fears so that they will not wreck your child’s usual role especially when they reach adulthood.

Les Dudek – “Old Judge Jones”