Specific Phobia, Preschool

You said that your child is extremely afraid of one or more things. Your child may be afraid of one of the following things or situations:

• Dogs
• Snakes
• Heights
• Storms
• Airplanes
• Elevators
• Shots
• Seeing blood
• Something else

Only children with the most extreme fears have a problem called a Specific Phobia.

You said your child acts in some of the following ways when s/he comes in contact with a feared object or situation. These are symptoms of a Specific Phobia.

• Intense fear
• Crying
• Tantrums
• Freezing"
• Clinging to an adult
• Avoiding the object/situation
• Gets very upset when s/he has to be near the things s/he fears

Your child may be unable to do the things s/he usually does each day, because s/he is so afraid. His/her fears may be causing problems with his/her friends. They may also be causing problems with how s/he gets along with you or other adults. Your child may not have any of these problems, but may be very upset about having this fear. Your child may only be afraid when s/he has to go near the thing s/he fears.

Specific phobias are very common. Women are more likely to have them than men. They often start in childhood. Children often have these same fears as they get older.

Adapted in part from National Institute of Mental Heath (NIMH) website, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Primary Care (DSM-PC) (1996), and the American Psychiatric Association (APA) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: Fourth Edition (1994).

Ways to Help your Child with a Specific Phobia:

• Know that children who are scared won't face things if they are not forced to do so.
• Children who are fearful need to act confidently before they can feel more confident
• "Systematic Desensitization" is a way to help your child face what he/she fears.
• This is a series of small steps starting with the easiest and working up to the most difficult.
• When doing this, children need a lot of support from their parents. They need a lot of praise and rewards for even a small amount of progress. They need to know that their parents have confidence in their ability to overcome the fear. They need to know that their parents would never let anything hurt them.
• Steps:
• Begin by reading or watching a movie about the feared object or situation
• Have your child pretend to be the feared object or situation
• Set up your child to view the feared object or situation from far away
• Gradually come closer to the feared object or situation with support of the parent
• Gradually back away until your child is experiencing it himself
• Most people need help from a doctor or a child therapist with these steps