Help Your Child Cope-Up With Phobias
What Parents Should Know
By Tushar Phogat
Thanatophobia, commonly known as a fear of death affects people from every background in a country.
It also affects children of small age who might get anxious and fearful about the death of their parents and overthink this issue.
We all expect children to live their life happily and be curious and their life to be free from any kind of worry. This issue among children can make parents worried about their children and might be difficult for them to address.
Why Fear of Death is Primal Fear?
The fear of death is common for children around the ages of six or seven. Researchers believe that children view death without all the trappings, religious beliefs, or defense mechanisms that adults have. Instead, children see death as a terrifying state of nothingness, and they don't necessarily understand what causes it. Your child may view death as a fulfillment of their own subconscious wishes and desires.
Kids also lack an adult concept of time, making it difficult to grasp the idea that someone can go away and then come back. When mommy is gone, as far as the child is concerned, she is dead. This leads to separation anxiety, common in children between 8 and 14 months, and other fears that involve being alone.
How to Help a Child With Thanatophobia?
In most children, the fear of death will not become pathological. Most childhood fears are soon outgrown as kids gain maturity and begin to shift their focus to the here and now. However, your child may receive a thanatophobia diagnosis if her symptoms present for six months or more.
Your reaction as a parent or teacher can partially influence how long-lasting and severe the child's fear of death is. Many adults assume that kids have no real concept of death, so they avoid talking about it with their children. But kids tend to ask for information when they are ready for it.
Healthy, child-led dialogue can help kids put death in perspective and minimize their feelings of responsibility for it.
Seeking Therapy for Thanatophobia
If your child displays a severe, life-limiting fear of death, or if the fear lasts for more than six months, seek professional guidance. Counseling is also recommended for children who experience a significant loss such as the death of a parent or close friend or witness a traumatic event such as a school shooting.
Placing your child in therapy can trigger your insecurities or make you wonder if you somehow failed as a parent. In reality, phobias can develop for a seemingly endless number of reasons. Early intervention gives your child the best chances to fully combat the phobia and move on with his life.
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