At the age of 3-4 years, the most common fear among children is the fear of the dark. The child is afraid to be alone in a dark room, he is afraid of dark corners and niches. Sometimes the baby cannot even explain the reason for his fear. Caring parents should help him deal with this problem.
Fears in children begin to appear with the improvement of the work of the parts of the brain. Gradually, new areas are activated and included in the work, the child learns to fantasize, his imagination develops. But the baby is afraid of the space that he cannot control, and the darkness hinders him in this. He begins to invent fears for himself, which lurk in dark corners and unlit spaces, because they can contain various dangers. To understand the child's fear, it is necessary to study the family situation, analyze the behavior of adults and their attitude towards the child. Sometimes it happens that fear is a screen behind which your baby hides completely different feelings. For example, jealousy. If your oldest son becomes afraid of the dark after the birth of your second child, pay attention to whether you are giving him enough time. Perhaps by caring for a younger one, you often leave the older one alone. And the child, who was previously accustomed to increased care, now often remains alone. He develops a feeling of jealousy. And the baby, in order to attract your attention, subconsciously expresses his protest. He has a feeling of fear of the dark so that his parents pay more attention to him. Take a closer look at the child's behavior, and you will surely understand the reason for the fear that has arisen. And sometimes the fear of the dark can, on the contrary, be a protest against excessive attention from adults who do not even allow the child to step on their own. Outwardly, the baby seems to be resigned to this. But in relation to the dark room, he shows incredible tenacity. And it will never come in until the light is turned on in the room. It looks quite real, they say, he cannot overcome this fear, and nothing can be done about it. But if you just give the baby a little freedom, move away from increased care, then the fear of the dark will disappear by itself. Of course, it is not easy to understand what is the cause of the fear of the dark in a child. But you need to figure it out. If these are your own miscalculations, you must immediately change your tactics of behavior. Then, in the future, it will be possible to avoid other collisions and sharp corners in relations with the child. If these are internal clamps of the baby associated with the development and activation of fantasy and imagination, then it is necessary to include developing games with elements of fighting fears in the communication process, or seek help from a specialist.
