5 Ways to Help Kids Overcome Their Fears Today

Trying to help kids overcome their fears can be difficult for parents as we generally want to remove all difficulties and fears as quickly as possible. But as your kids get older, its more important to help them talk through their fears than providing quick-fix solutions. Follow our 5 step conversation to help your child overcome their fears today.

Read our Face Your Fears story here.

Help Kids to Overcome Their Fears Through Our 5 Step Conversation

1. Name the Fear

Not all fears are simple. So, its good to sit down together when everyone is calm and chat about what is it that your child is scared of.

Take some time to give a name to the fear – is it the dark? Spiders? Heights? Clowns? Being alone? Monsters? You may be surprised that what your child is actually anxious about is not what you expected.

Remember sometimes it can be fear of not knowing that can be the root issue. Children may be scared of things when they don’t know how it will feel when they try it.

2. Reveal Your Fear

Everyone has experienced fear in some shape or form. Even as adults, fear doesn’t go away. We may have learned how to cope with our fear better or even hide it more effectively but it is still there.

So, take a moment to empathise with your child. Remind them that everyone gets scared, they are not alone, not a scaredy-cat or a coward. Maybe even share a story of one of your own childhood fears.

3. Fears Don't Rule

Don’t offer platitudes or quick-fix solutions to your children and expect their fears to disappear overnight.

Instead work together with them to plan some fear-busting solutions that you can implement to help them manage scary situations now and in the future. Ask questions like what would make that situation feel less scary or less overwhelming? Is there anything we can learn about a situation that might change our perception? Could we try something together and you could see how it feels doing it with somebody?

Teaching them that is can be safe to approach a scary situation as long as you have the right tools can be life-changing for them.

4. Success is not the Absence of Fear

Once you have decided on your plan of attack, it’s time to put it into action and that can be scary in itself. Expectations can be high with your child feeling like they can take on the world. Or they could be even more terrified to face their biggest fears.

Talk to them about what success will look like for them. That this may take time – that there will need to be short-term successes as well as a long-term goal. The real success is about how they learn to cope bit by bit. If your child is too young for this part of the conversation, then its still good to think about your own realistic expectations.

Finally, remind your child that they are not alone. You are not abandoning them to their terrifying fate. That you will be there to support, to encourage and to be a safe place.

5. Share Your Story

Sometimes helping your child overcome their fears can be done easily at home. But it’s not always easy as a parent to know if your child’s fears are becoming something potentially serious or dangerous.

If you think your child’s fears are interfering with everyday life or are unusually intense, it might be time to seek the help of a professional.

More Information on How to Help Kids Overcome Their Fears

For more information on childhood fears and how to help them, click here.