5 Things Toddlers Fear And How You Can Help Overcome Them!

5  Common Toddlers Fears And How You Help Overcome Them!

Has your toddler ever cried before going to bed?
Has he refused to sit on the pot to poop?
Has he been afraid of loud noise?

Both my kids have their own sets of fears and we’ve battled with the kids overcoming them.

My older one is 7 years and for as long as I can remember, he’s been scared of ‘bad dreams’ at night.
My 3 year of is scared of being left alone.

In my experience as a mom, here are the  5  Things Toddlers Fears And How You Can Help Overcome Them!

• Toddlers Fear Strangers:
  My older one told me once ‘Mom you always tell me not to talk to strangers and yet you ask me to say hello to strange aunties in the park!’  If you put your mind to it, fear of strangers is a healthy fear. It just tells the child that he doesn’t feel comfortable around a stranger and hence sticks to you. Also while we are always cautioning our kids to keep away from strange people, by encouraging to go to an aunt or uncle that they aren’t comfortable with is peeling off our own teaching.
  This can also be awkward. So give your child time and help him by interacting in his presence. Seeing you comfortable with the stranger will warm up your child towards him too.
• Toddlers Fear Separation:
  When you say ‘bye’ your baby feels that you’ll probably never come back. The best thing to do is get your child accustomed to saying ‘bye.’ It might be difficult on the onset, but gradually your child will get used to it. Also talking about how trusted your child’s caregiver is will help your toddler trust her too.
• Toddlers Fear The Dark:
  This one needs no introduction. The darkness brings with it the fear of being alone at night, the possibility of monsters invading the room, bad dreams and so much more!
  Use a small night light to make your child feel comfortable. Also your child might feel comfortable with the understanding that nighttime is a regular feature and can be enjoyed too. Take your toddler out for an ice-cream at night or just sit in the verandah and read. Gradually this fear will ebb out too.

• Toddlers Fear Monsters:
  All the story reading, the narration of beauty and the beast, overstimulated creativity all manifest in the evening time triggering in the child a fear for monsters. MY 3 year old doesn’t understand the reality or fiction of monsters yet, so a little spray bottle of water and a little essential oil mixture tagged ‘Monster Spray’ works so well.
  You can read about more such awesome Parenting Hacks here!
• Toddlers Fear Toilets and Bathrooms!
  This might be hard to believe but in my experience with my older one, this has been true.
  He always worried that the loud, noisy (read flush here) which pumped lots of water would , like a lot of poop, eat him up too! Transitioning him from the diaper to the pot was a little  tough because of this. You can ease your toddlers fears by showing him how to things can be flushed down the toilet. Show him how mom and dad use it too. An age appropriate and well built toilet seat will also help in this regard.

Empower Your Child! 

1. I learnt that I can’t always be with my little one. So the next best thing to do was to teach my child to manage his fears. Gradually I exposed my toddlers to the things that scared them. While also doing this, I talk about my own fears and   how keeping calm really helps.
2. I taught my kids the difference between reality and make-belief. In toddlers specially, things usually are a spark of imagination and often telling the kids that it’s not real solves more than half of the worry.
3. I have learnt to be calm. As someone whom my kids look up to, I’ve realized that an open demonstration of my fear and panic doesn’t help. In spite of my fears, I’ve learnt to be calm. I don’t hide

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