Reasoning That Comforts
Older Frightened Children
For Fantasy Threats:
-
For
8-year-olds and older -- get them to focus on the impossibility of the
fantastic events
-
For younger
children -- visually demonstrate the unreal status of the frightening occurrence
(for example, help them apply scary make-up)
For Real Threats:
-
Give
them calming, absolute, but limited truthful information
-
Use their fears
as a teachable moment, and offer safety guidelines about how to protect
themselves
-
Talk to them
sympathetically about their fears, even when there's nothing particularly
reassuring to say.
-
Seek professional
help if fears are uncontrollable or overpowering
-
Seek your child's
cooperation in avoiding future exposure to similar content
From: "Mommy I'm Scared": How TV and Movies Frighten Children and What
We Can Do to Protect Them. Harvest/Harcourt, 1998.
Calming
Preschoolers' Fears
Return
to Parents' Pages
Return
to Joanne Cantor's Home Page
www.joannecantor.com