How to Conquer Fears

Video Transcript

"Hi my name is Dr. Laura Grashow, and I am a child psychologist in private practice here in south Florida. Let's talk about how to help children conquer their fears. Modeling is really, really important first and foremost. So if you are anxious and uptight about something you can't expect your child to just run, to just run head long into it, and be comfortable. You also have to model calm, and a calm approach to even a stressful situation. The other thing about fears is that they are basically the fantasy of a catastrophe. So you have got to talk to your child about what he or she is imagining for themself. What they are imagining is going to happen. Often times when we feel confident we just sort of know that things are going to go well. On the other hand when we start to feel fearful we are sort of plagued by these visions or thoughts that things are not going to go well. So you want to try and help your child change some of those negative thinking patterns when it comes to their fears. Finally, you want to do some practical problem solving around the fear. Just avoiding a stressor will likely maintain the fear. So sit down talk to your child, and see what they can come up with in terms of how to help them get through a fearful situation."