Fear of the dark?
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Updated on Nov 29, 2012
Hi all, My 3. 5 year old daughter has developed a fear of the dark! She is really afraid of going into any of the rooms or the bathroom after dark and wants me to accompany her each time. I do go with her most of the time, but with a baby to also look after, I cannot do it everytime. I know this is a phase almost all children go through and she will grow out of it but till then how do we deal with it? Will accompanying her each time, feed into the fear or help her deal with it? Or should I try and explain that there are no ghosts or boogies in the room/bathroom and that she should try to be brave and go by herself? The second option does not usually work.. Is there anything else I can do to help her alleviate her fear? Please share your stories and ideas.. Thanks!
| Dec 01, 2012
Hey Anurima, I also faced this.. I could suggest few things - I read that you are great at weaving stories for your children , so why not weave a story around this issue. I would also sit with my child and together draw - a dark room and a story around it so that their fears are expressed onto paper. Their drawings have such wonderful little cues to whats really going on, dont they! And if you can, perhaps grab a children's book on the topic - I Want My Light On (Flipkart, INR 443 )/ Little Mouse's Big Book Of Fears (Snapdeal, INR 246).. tc
| Dec 05, 2012
Hey! Here's what I did, I would have lights switched off in a room or perhaps have dim lighting. And at an opportune time, when my child was least expecting it,I simply walked into the room and would call him to join me for a little something. ,,such as help me in carrying stuff or look for an object. The key was not to let him figure that I was trying to work on the issue... Few times after this happened, he got over his fear of the dark.. :)
