2006-07-22 01:32:29 · 9 answers · asked by noheja 1 in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Parenting
My 4 year old son was afraid of the water something fierce. Whenever he got near a pool he would throw up his nerves were that bad. Anyway took it one step at a time 1st let him get used to seeing the pool, next let him put his hand in the water( took awhile to convince him that was ok ) the next step was to put on floaties, then had him sit by the pool and put his foot in. Next step was to have him sit on the first stair, finally let him hug me around the neck and SLOWLY walk him into the pool, next had him let go so he could see the floaties worked, then once he got comfortable with floating slowly moved away from him. It took six months but yes I did help him overcome the fear of water but now got to by a pool for our family. ( The Rule Of Unintended Consequences) So yes with patience and understanding you can help your child overcome fears, just remember slowly and baby steps!!!
2006-07-22 04:00:05 · answer #1 · answered by uniroyalfan 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yes, fear is a learned behavior.
The easiest way is to go a graduated immersion. Start with small animals or ones they are comfortable with and give a reward to the child when their behavior matches your desire. Keep on moving to larger animals use pets, farms, zoos, BOOKS, videos etc. Exposure and reward is the key.
There are other ways too this process worked well with my 6 yr old girl...was very afraid of large dogs. Now she wants a pony...what did I do??????
2006-07-22 09:56:27 · answer #2 · answered by mymadsky 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Cognitive Therapy is a great holistic approach or start if you want to try an alternative to medication administation or utilize both if u choose to be the best option for your childs condition.
The treatment, a form of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) called exposure and response prevention, produces almost twice as much benefit compared with medications used .
The goal is to help the patient determine how his or her interpretation of events affects mood, behavior and relationships, and how different interpretations can lead to better adaptation.
I have the link below where I feel you will get many options to help your child.
Best of Luck to your childs overcome of fears.
MindGamez
2006-07-22 10:08:44 · answer #3 · answered by Mind GameZ 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A bit of fear is natural and good. Children should not approach an animal they do not know. If it is a family pet, abate their fears by example. If they see you are not afraid, they will eventually come to lose their fear. I introduced my grandson to a horse last week. He was afraid to touch her at first, but when he saw me hugging her and petting her nose, he wanted to pet her.
2006-07-22 08:38:28 · answer #4 · answered by PariahMaterial 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
maybe rent some sesame street movies and laugh at the animals in a nice way and make him realize they aren't bad. Try a petting zoo, get a hamster and let him see you play with it and eventually he will help too.
2006-07-22 09:05:41 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
That's what my Mom wants to know Because am 13 and have always been terrified of Dogs. They really want to get rid of my phobia , but I think dogs are cute but i just cant stand them and they freak me out!
2006-07-22 10:12:37 · answer #6 · answered by xKarlax 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
sometimes they just grow out of them my son was three when he had a fear of clowns now he is 10 and has no fear of them.
2006-07-22 08:36:56 · answer #7 · answered by arizonabrat 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Buy him a pet dog
2006-07-22 08:46:52 · answer #8 · answered by The Cool Guy 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
take them to a farm or zoo and let them pat them,feed them they will come around to love them......cheers..
2006-07-22 08:56:09 · answer #9 · answered by thickers 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋