What to do if the child is afraid of the dark - children's fears

Many parents are familiar with this situation: the kid is already laid in bed, read a fairy tale for the night, it seems that it's time for him to fall asleep calmly, and he begins to be capricious: he asks not to leave, not turn off the light, crying if adults do not respond to his demands. So what if the child is afraid of darkness and demands that he not be left alone? First of all, you can not completely ignore the request of the baby, believing that this is just a manifestation of disobedience.

Put yourself in the place of the baby

To understand the child, you need to put yourself in his place. Imagine that he could be in the dark room. The kid read or looked at fairy tales, where among the main characters were terrible sorcerers, evil witches, treacherous leche, house. In the afternoon they are not remembered, but with the onset of darkness, the characters begin to come alive: everything in the room seems terrible! The outlines of the furniture acquire ominous outlines, it seems that behind them are those most insidious heroes. There is no limit to the imagination of the baby, and as a result, until he is overcome by a dream, he really experiences moments of horror.

Fear or fear simulation?

Perhaps one of the parents doubts: is this a fear, or does the child just want to stay awake longer, afraid of missing something interesting? Of course, there are no doubts that many children are small actors who can perfectly play the fright. But every parent should know his child well: if he is very brave, sometimes even desperate, then most likely he really wanted to have fun before going to bed, and the plot could be inspired by the same books, films and cartoons, stories told by little friends. If the kid always had a heightened emotionality, impressionability, a timid character, reserved, he most likely does not invent anything: he is really very scared!

How to help your child overcome nightly fears

Give a definite answer to the parents question , what to do if the child is afraid of the dark, and how to help him overcome the feeling of fear, it is impossible, because all children are different. The options can be the following:

1. You can just forbid the child to talk about his fears, turn off the lights and leave the room - let him fight his cowardice himself. To this method most often resort very strict fathers or mothers, not inferior to men in severity. By the way, if the child is still not afraid, but in fact only simulates fear, then this method will be most effective, as it will not give the child the opportunity to "develop" the topic until the fear really does not appear.
2. Some mothers and dads prefer to put off all their business and stay in the baby's room until he falls asleep. On the one hand, the method is very good - the child will quickly forget about his worries and will fall asleep sweetly, feeling his full security. On the other hand, this approach to solving the problem has significant disadvantages: it is only the parents who are engaged in some evening, as a sense of alarm, the danger will immediately return to the children. There is a risk that the child, waking up at night and not finding parents next to him, will be even more frightened: when he fell asleep, one of them was near.
3. The most, in our opinion, simple and at the same time effective way is to leave a small night light in the room. The child will be calm: no images will not be seen in a dark room. And parents can in the evenings deal with their own affairs, not trying to adjust to the regime of their child.
4. All of the above methods can be alternated so that the child does not depend on any particular, since unforeseen circumstances can always arise. And even the most perfect method with a night lamp left for the night - and that can fail if suddenly a light bulb burns out: a child, if he is accustomed to fall asleep under the soft light of a small lamp, stress can happen!

Exercises for Courage

If parents know that the child is afraid of the dark, sometimes it is worth giving him small assignments: for example, to take to a dark room some thing or, conversely, something to take there, not including light. Such "training" will help him gradually overcome the fear of the dark.

Prevention of "alarm"

Child's fears can be prevented to some extent. When is the child afraid? When he does not know something or is frightened of something. Often parents themselves provoke the child's feelings of fear: "Do not do it, Baba Yaga will come, take you!".Not only such threats, but also simply sharp cries, physical punishment( slaps, cuffs) can not but affect the nervous system of the baby. At the same time, it is impossible to allow a child to do whatever he wants: punishment is sometimes well deserved and justified. A clear regime of the day will help to avoid such moments. Do not allow your child to spend too much time with a TV or computer;he should be in the open air, running, playing mobile games. The more active the baby's day, the more tired he will be by the evening and soon fall asleep, before he even has time to think that he is scared in the room!