Pages

April 20, 2012

fighting monsters with lightsabers

If you read my last post, I promised to look for the link to the article I had read about conquering your child's fear of monsters. I couldn't find the exact article--it might have helped if I could remember when and where I saw the article. :P My memory just isn't what it used to be! However, I did find plenty of other articles with the same theme of creative ideas. Below are just a couple that were interesting to me.
Fighting Monsters with Force Fields and White Lies
Helping Children with Monster Fears

The first link takes you to an article written for one of my favorite magazines, Psychology Today. The author mentions some of his colleagues expressed concern that the fear of monsters may be reinforced if a parent chooses a method other than telling the child they don't exist in the first place. I can see where they're coming from--perhaps this would happen in some cases, but I honestly think the number would be very low.

Children, especially the very young such as toddlers, don't think the same way adults do. My parents told me monsters don't exist, and I sure as heck didn't believe them! Eventually, I just grew out of that fear but suffered many sleepless and anxious nights until I did. I want to prevent that for my kids. I believe a more effective and possibly quicker fix to this dilemma calls for some creativity. :D

I'm want to know what all of you think! Whether you aren't a parent, are a parent, or will be a parent, please tell me your opinion and any experiences you'd like to share. If you are unable to comment directly on this post, then you can contact me in one of the following ways:

Twitter @pearlofagirl30
Goodreads Jennifer R
Gmail jennifer.m.ricketts@gmail.com

Do you think "fighting" monsters with your child (or another similar idea) would be helpful to him/her, or do you feel that it would be feeding into your child's fears, thus reinforcing them instead of dispelling them?

Let me know your opinions, and I'll post them on here to share with others! :D








2 comments:

  1. "Fighting monsters" seems like it would definitely help. I'd say it would give the child courage later in life to do other things like fight the "monsters" of real life.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Exactly, I agree! I hope it'll help my kids when they're faced with problems later in life.

      Delete

Leave a comment and make my day awesome! :D This is an award-free zone - thanks for your consideration though!