At 8 months, the child begins to develop fear of strangers. This is a normal development of the instinct for self-preservation. What should parents do? Explore tips for reducing unnecessary anxiety.
If an eight-month-old baby fearfully rejects his father who returned from a week's business trip, or his grandmother after yesterday's visit, do not be discouraged. We are not talking about the child's mental instability. He successfully and on time formed a basic instinct for self-preservation.
First alarms
The baby experiences the first stress and anxiety when visiting a doctor in a children's clinic. Strangers in white coats tug at him, weigh and examine him. Vaccination adds negative emotions to the baby.
Help him! Read the fairy tale about doctor Aibolit together at night, let them look through the book, look at the pictures. Buy toy medical instruments and together with him in a white coat "heal" horses and dolls.
Stranger
Negative experiences in a child can be caused by meeting strangers on the street. In the world of high volumes, everything is scary. First, try to communicate with young children, their mothers. The social circle will expand, and the baby will perceive strangers without fear. Ask your friend to speak quietly to you when they meet; someone else's male voice can cause anxiety in the baby.
Do not pursue a purposeful fight against shyness, nervousness, and capriciousness of the baby when communicating with a stranger. He deliberately begins to divide into friends and foes, experiences anxiety when he sees people who are not like his mother. The fear of losing your mom is the fear of the unknown.
Be patient, give your child time to get to know the stranger. Let your relative sit next to him for a while, give him a bright soft toy, so that the baby understands: this person is his own. A few minutes are enough for one baby to calm down while sitting in her mother's arms. Others will need to visit you several times. Some curious children may immediately climb onto a guest's lap.
What not to do
Do not shift child care to grandmothers and nannies. If parents devote all their free time to communication with the baby, he is less prone to fears and stress in the future. Avoid noisy meetings and crowded places.
Do not scare him in case of disobedience to "someone else's uncle" or "babayka". Childhood fears cannot be ignored. Mom will be able to cure this child's grief with her love, to protect the baby from the unfamiliar world.
By the age of two, the child's fear of strangers will disappear, and he will happily communicate with everyone. It depends on you, parents, how quickly the child will outgrow his childhood experiences.
