Fear of noise in children, how to treat them?
The fear it is something inherent to the human being, who more and who least fears something and in the case of children this list is bigger. The little ones do not know everything that surrounds them and before something strange that goes out of the ordinary it is probable that certain suspicion appears. One of them is the rejection to the noisy situations that are very common in Christmas dates before the manipulation of pyrotechnics.
As the psychologist points out Montse García, there are children who get very nervous about the noise. These little ones start to cry react negatively in a spiral of anxiety that grows if they are not quickly removed from the stimulus they fear. Knowing how to console them at this time is essential to prevent the smallest children from entering a stress crisis.
Common fear
Do you have to worry if you appreciate this fear In the kids? Not at all, as this psychologist explains, terror of noise is common among children between two and six years of age. In the case that, beyond this age, this anxiety continues to manifest itself in these contexts, there would be reasons to worry about this situation and think about asking for help.
It is also recommended to assess the situation and the response of the child. Sometimes the presence of fear in the presence of a noise is normal, such as, for example, exposition constant firecrackers during these Christmas and that can make nervous the most sensitive minors. But if the stimulus is normal and still the reaction is great: tremors, nausea, dizziness, etc, yes there are reasons to worry.
As for the origin of fear, it is also possible that it is a claim of attention by children. There are minors who when seeing others react like this in a similar situation and take care of their parents, act in a similar way to get the eyes of all to turn to him. For these cases it is to see how he behaves alone.
Montse García recommends that we do not worry too much, since evolutionary fears are part of the normal development of our children. Neither do you have to underestimate the suffering of the small ones under the belief that with time all these problems will be disappearing, reason why I consider that it is not necessary to lose importance but to be informed through specialists and to use the common sense.
Frequent fears in children
As has been said, fear is common in children. Along with the noise there are other fears that should be known:
1. Fear of the dark. The time to go to sleep can be torture on many occasions for the little ones in the house. See how that colorful room and where he played hours before, now becomes a shady place and in which his senses do not perceive anything causes in the children a quite habitual fear of the dark. In fact, the Spanish Association of Pediatrics, AEPED states that this fear appears in one in three children by two years and that this percentage decreases at 8-9.
This association adds that sometimes this fear is added to others such as the fear of imaginary characters or the possibility that someone may enter and harm them. The AEPED recommends establishing certain routines that calm children before going to sleep, such as talking with them in bed and tucking them in or reading a story; It also emphasizes the danger that the child may have exciting activities before sleep or drink caffeinated beverages and sugary at night.
2. Fear of separation. Losing that person to whom the child feels so attached is a thought that the little ones do not like at all. The AEPED points out that it is one of the most common fears in the human race in its first years of life, especially when the little one fears losing his mother, a person to whom he is usually more united.
AEPED recommends encouraging the child's autonomy from the beginning and avoiding overprotection of the child. Brief separations should be made at the beginning such as allowing them to play at a friend's house and with the passage of time expand these activities to let them sleep at home of this friendship or go to camps when age allows.
3. School fears. The school can pose many problems for the child. And is that in this environment the child is involved in a competitive environment where usually the normal establishes that it should be the best. This is coupled with having to look for friends, which can lead to a feeling of loneliness. This fact usually remits over time, when the child adapts to school.
On the part of the parents, it is important to be firm as long as the child is made to understand that he / she must go to school. It will also be important to have a good relationship with the teaching staff when it comes to detecting possible problems such as bullyin, which can cause this fear of school in the child. Long absences from school should be avoided as this does not favor the acclimatization of the child in his new environment.
4. Fear of doctors. It is not uncommon to imagine why the child fears a stranger who sometimes covers his face and who causes physical damage to him or who sticks needles in to inject him with vaccines. This can cause small feel anxiety each time he is told that he will go to the doctor because he does not understand that it is to cure him, but rather to make him feel pain.
The AEPED recommends a calm attitude in the parents to transmit tranquility to the child. In addition it is also good that the child knows his pediatrician in a kinder context and when he does not wear a mask or other devices that may cause the child to be rejected.
Damián Montero
