The Right Way to Tackle Your Child’s Fear of the Dark
posted on Jun 28, 2022
Fear of the Dark is something most people experience due to varied reasons. Children are no exception. In fact, as a parent, you may have observed that your child fears darkness and thus avoids areas that are dark and isolated.
We understand that you, as a parent, would never want your child to live with this fear forever. However, that being said, you need to approach this matter sensitively so that your child does not feel triggered or mocked.
This is something we at Gurukul The School, one of the best schools in Ghaziabad, would like to remind the parents so that no child loses out on his confidence and self-esteem. Let us now quickly look into ways that can help you address the fear of darkness in children.
- Avoid seeking overnight change:
As a parent, you would never want your child to live in fear. This can, in turn, lead to you pushing your child into facing his fears. Even though this is the ultimate goal, you cannot possibly meet this goal overnight.
You need to essentially follow a step-by-step procedure wherein your child does not feel overwhelmed. Let us say your child fears sleeping in the dark. In this case, instead of forcing your child to sleep in the dark, let your child know that it is okay to sleep with the lights on. In the days to come, dim the light to suit your child’s comfort level. Finally, a day will come when your child will no more fear the dark.
We at Gurukul The School believe that fear is always initiated by an underlying cause. Thus, one of the best ways of finding the root cause is by sitting down with your child and hearing him out.
In case your child is unable to explain properly, you must ask the necessary questions. In the process, you will come to know the real triggers behind your child fearing the dark. Once the triggers are known, you can address and eliminate them.
- Introduce relaxation techniques:
It may not be possible for you to address your child’s fear of the dark on an immediate basis. In this case, what you can do is teach your child to independently deal with darkness so that the impact is well within control. To begin with, you can introduce your child to relaxation techniques such as breathing exercises so that they do not feel anxious when they unknowingly land in a dark area.
Many a time, what worsens the fear of darkness among children is they coming across objects and images that are unnatural and scary. In such a situation, these items scare children more than the darkness itself.
Thus, if you are working towards helping your child recover from the fear of darkness, be mindful of the items that your child comes in contact with. At times, introducing a toy in your child’s life and storytelling on the lines of the toy being your child’s companion can do wonders in eliminating the fear of the dark.
If your child fears darkness and you keep reinstating to your child that carrying fears is not a good thing, it is likely to disturb your child even further. Instead, if you normalise fear and let your child know that most people fear something or the other, your child will not feel left out.
We, at Gurukul The school, one of the best schools in Ghaziabad, suggest parents to keep children reminded that being fearful is okay, but accepting that fear as a permanent resident in your life is not the right thing to do. What is important is to keep working towards getting rid of fear that is sure to not serve you in life.
Final Thoughts:
As a parent, if you have been looking for ways to disconnect the unfruitful connection between your child and his fear of darkness, then the above tips should come in handy.
It is important to note that just as suddenly fears develop, similarly, they disappear as well! So, if your child fears darkness today, a few days later, you might notice your child running in the dark free of scare and worries. It is just about bridging this gap, something we, at Gurukul The School, believe is 100% achievable with efforts on the part of the child as well as the parents.