In babies and children there are fears that adults discover with amazement or concern, different fears of varying intensity and manifestation that all of them go through and that we must see as a natural stage to which we can only offer our support and company to help them overcome them.
Fear is a natural state of alert, a kind of radar that warns them and protects against something that the little ones catch as dangerous. When we face stimuli (situations, objects and thoughts) that involve danger or threat, fear is activated, and the instinctive response is escape, therefore it is part of our survival instinct and the evolutionary development of the human being. Fear is only negative if it becomes pathological, a phobia, or if it derives from a traumatic event.
We adults, of course, also suffer fears, but we have resources to stop them and avoid them, something that babies and children lack. We adults can rationalize and realize that fear is unfounded or we can begin a process of gradually confronting fear for ourselves, but not children. They may have diverse fears, always because they perceive some danger, even to something unknown.
They are very frequent fears of darkness, places, objects or unknown people, dolls, water, certain animals, doctors, loud sounds, separation, school, imaginary beings ...
In the first months of life Babies do not respond with caution or caution to novel stimuli, but respond with shouting, crying or shaking alerting the mother for protection when she is hungry, in pain, cold.
The closest thing to fear would be when they receive violent stimulation such as loud noises (instruments, rockets, motors ...), or if they feel they lose the support, protection or company of their loved ones. It is an adaptation reaction, as it helps you survive what you perceive as possible dangers.
I remember that my baby, for example, was afraid to hear the sound of the juicer or the mixer, and it is common in many small those fears of sounds and even new toys or shapes around them. Over time, they perceive that there is no danger and become accustomed to such sounds or objects, considering them "familiar", although they may continue to be frightened by the unknown.
When they are somewhat older, the manifestations of fear are different in each childThere are different types of behavior strategies that range from total immobility to panic attacks with desperate escape from the source of danger. The most common physiological manifestations are: acceleration of the heart rhythm, sweating, muscle tension, dry throat and mouth, feeling nauseous, tremor ... The intensity of these manifestations are consistent with the intensity of the feeling of fear, and only in extreme cases These natural physiological reactions of the organism (when discharging adrenaline) can be dangerous.
Therefore, fears are natural and universal, and are usually passengers, although they change and evolve in the same person and can be overcome. As parents we must promote the prevention and overcoming of fears, as well as prudent behavior in dangerous situations. And although childhood fears are part of a growth process, they can also be warning signs, so you should not minimize them and, before new manifestations, think about whether they derive from new circumstances in the lives of children (separation from parents, school ...)
Adults should calm childhood fears, accompany and know how to listen to our children, speak calmly, rhythms and leisurely movements, feel our closeness and physical contact and explain the nature of their fears ... Approach them to the stimulating stimulus of fear progressively and always in an environment of child welfare will give way to overcoming fears. At least for children.
