When setting out to describe the fears that children sometimes suffer, we should first point out that there is nothing unusual about these emotions - indeed they are inevitable.
At birth, babies are suddenly catapulted from their soft, aquatic, enclosed surroundings into a hostile environment that is dazzlingly bright, filled with unrestrained noise, and starkly different to the one the child know in the mother's womb.
A necessary impulse
In fact, fear is very important to a human being's development. At between six and eight months, we fear everything that is unfamiliar or strange. When babies see an unknown face, they turn away, seeking refuge in their mother's lap. This stage is good because it shows that the child is discriminating and is capable of distinguishing and classifying things. Parents will then have no need to worry when their offspring later has to respond to real dangers like passing cars, animals or a stranger offering them sweets in the street, which is crucial for the child's self-protection. However, it is important to check that such reactions are expressed in reasonable proportions and not all the time.
The fear of abandonment
At the base of all fears is the worry of separation, and therefore the fear of being abandoned and finding oneself lost and alone in the world. When children sense aggressive or destructive behaviour towards the one they love, they fear the result. This fear is then transformed and externalised, for example towards school, ghosts or the dark. This is a shifting of the deepest anxieties connected to the fear of abandonment and the loss of love from someone close. It is very common for children to dread starting school, as this often represents the first separation from their parents. Those who have a very intertwined relationship with their parents feel the greatest anxiety over this.
Overcome it through play
Cures for children's phobias come in different forms, depending on the school of thought on which they are based. It is important to focus on the psychoanalytical approach, which aims to deal with all of the child's perceptions, those frightening fantasies that occupy and take over their psyche. Psychoanalytical work aims to free the child of these fears through play, drawing and talking. It is a question of trying to create another relationship with the outside world, one that brings relief and improvement, as often these children will lack confidence in themselves if the whole world causes them fear. Psychoanalysts therefore use playful activities like drawing to enter the young subject's fantasy world, in order to release them from whatever is bothering them.
By Yannick Chavanne
At birth, babies are suddenly catapulted from their soft, aquatic, enclosed surroundings into a hostile environment that is dazzlingly bright, filled with unrestrained noise, and starkly different to the one the child know in the mother's womb.
A necessary impulse
In fact, fear is very important to a human being's development. At between six and eight months, we fear everything that is unfamiliar or strange. When babies see an unknown face, they turn away, seeking refuge in their mother's lap. This stage is good because it shows that the child is discriminating and is capable of distinguishing and classifying things. Parents will then have no need to worry when their offspring later has to respond to real dangers like passing cars, animals or a stranger offering them sweets in the street, which is crucial for the child's self-protection. However, it is important to check that such reactions are expressed in reasonable proportions and not all the time.
The fear of abandonment
At the base of all fears is the worry of separation, and therefore the fear of being abandoned and finding oneself lost and alone in the world. When children sense aggressive or destructive behaviour towards the one they love, they fear the result. This fear is then transformed and externalised, for example towards school, ghosts or the dark. This is a shifting of the deepest anxieties connected to the fear of abandonment and the loss of love from someone close. It is very common for children to dread starting school, as this often represents the first separation from their parents. Those who have a very intertwined relationship with their parents feel the greatest anxiety over this.
Overcome it through play
Cures for children's phobias come in different forms, depending on the school of thought on which they are based. It is important to focus on the psychoanalytical approach, which aims to deal with all of the child's perceptions, those frightening fantasies that occupy and take over their psyche. Psychoanalytical work aims to free the child of these fears through play, drawing and talking. It is a question of trying to create another relationship with the outside world, one that brings relief and improvement, as often these children will lack confidence in themselves if the whole world causes them fear. Psychoanalysts therefore use playful activities like drawing to enter the young subject's fantasy world, in order to release them from whatever is bothering them.
By Yannick Chavanne
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