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[Bookworm]

I was talking with a co-worker today about "fearful children" and we were wondering what factors causes this. We have several children in our center who are afraid to do anything (i.e. fingerpainting, using the water fountain, using daycare bathroom). Do the parents cause these "fears"/anxieties? The majority of these children have some of the most laid back parents on Earth and even they don't know where it's coming from.

Does anyone know of any books or articles that we can read for answers? Please don't think we're idiots. Even though I've been doing childcare for 18 yrs and co-worker for 5, this is something not covered in our continuing ed class. We truly don't understand so any help would be greatly appreciated.

[kendallina]

I only know a little about childhood fears as my 3-year old daughter suddenly developed some major ones around Thanksgiving. We were watching a cartoon about a snowman that comes to life and she suddenly started shaking uncontrollably and bawling! Very unusual behavior for her. From that point on, anytime she saw anything pertaining to snowmen or makeup (he was applying makeup in the movie) or hats or anything.at.all, she was sooo scared of it! It really affected our lives negatively for a few weeks, but she's really much more relaxed about it now and most of her intense fears have already gone away.

Fears with young children are generally considered normal and completely common. If the fears are incredibly intense, lasting several months or really interfere with life, then it may be a problem.

As far as what causes it, I think it's just a normal part of development for most children, so not necessarily the cause of the parents.

[Heidi]

The only thing you can do is push gently, I think. Get them out of their comfort zone as often as possible, without pushing too hard. Maybe the fact that their parents are "layed back" means they never, ever do get their boundries pushed?

[Bookworm]

The only thing you can do is push gently, I think. Get them out of their comfort zone as often as possible, without pushing too hard. Maybe the fact that their parents are "layed back" means they never, ever do get their boundries pushed?

You know, I never thought of it that way. I agree that maybe they're not being pushed. We have one particular child whose parents "encourage" it because they want to keep their 3yr old a baby even though they have a 7mo old. Parents are very hesitant, borderline resistant, to 3yr old being independent. I don't think that we can push this child toward independence because the parents push back the other way.