Lisa C. Baker writes blog called, A Fine Parent.com. You can see her complete article at: Got Kids With Irrational Fears?

She begins the post with:

Don’t you think one of the most helpless and frustrating moments as a parent is when our kids have irrational fears, and nothing we say seems to make a difference?

It may be something common like the fear of darkness or monsters under the bed. Or something completely out of ordinary like the fear of ants, or everyday sounds, or imaginary little men living under the nightstand.

How can we help them overcome these fears?

For my daughter, it was an irrational fear of water. Even a splash on her leg from stepping in a puddle made her scream like she’d been cut with a knife. She ran away from dogs because she was afraid they would lick her. I could only bathe her with a sponge in a bucket in front of the TV to distract her. Once, she punched a one year old in the face because she was so afraid the baby would suck on its fingers and then touch her with wet hands.

Her 5 strategies are:

1. Validate your child’s emotions through empathy and calm confidence.

2. Reduce your child’s panic with mindful, sensory calming.

3. Challenge your child to test the edge of fear.

4. Spark your child’s imagination and creativity to challenge anxious thoughts.

5. Change your own thinking to match your child’s new found confidence.

She describes how she learned through trial and error and then with a book written by Lawrence Cohen called, The Opposite of Worry: The Playful Parenting Approach to Childhood Anxieties and Fears.

If your child is struggling with irrational fears, why not go to Lisa’s blog and read more about her strategies for helping her daughter deal with her fear of water.

If you, as an adult are struggling with fear, you may be helped by reading, Battle Against Fear