Why Are Children Afraid To Be Alone?
Every day, millions of fathers and mothers face the reality that their daughters and sons are afraid to be alone. Why is this one of the most common phenomena among children, especially among younger ones?
In general, the fear of being alone starts at the age of 2 to 5 years. And if not channeled correctly, it can have a direct impact on children’s emotional health.
In some cases, this can also lead to fear of the dark or make children want to sleep with the light on. They may even fear costumes or clowns. Finally, the fear of being alone can manifest itself in many ways in our children, which is why we must be careful to recognize this situation and help them.
Children’s perception of time
One of the reasons children are afraid of being alone is that they perceive the passage of time differently than adults. For example, when we promise a ride, they are constantly asking if it’s time to leave.
This is because they don’t perceive the passage of time in the same way that we do. So a few minutes can feel like an eternity.
Also, if they are the last to be kept waiting at school or it takes a few minutes to pick them up, they feel they have waited too many hours and may have a panic attack. Some children may develop a fear of going to class.
Fear of being alone, a normal phenomenon
Almost every child in the world is afraid of being alone for some period of their childhood. This is not something parents should be concerned about. Children can be afraid of being alone even when they have company.
For example, children may be afraid to be alone at school even though they are surrounded by many other children. In this case, fear is produced by a feeling of insecurity.
They may also be afraid of being alone when they play in their room, even if we are in another room. Even when they are babies, the fear of being alone occurs when they are caught by someone other than their mother or father.
Ways to help children overcome the fear of being alone
As parents, one of our tasks is to help our children to overcome the difficult setbacks that occur in their lives, and one of them is the fear of being alone. Here are some useful tips:
1.- Never minimize your problems
As petty or foolish as children’s fears or concerns may seem to us, we must never underestimate them. The only thing this attitude can do is for children not to trust us as parents.
2.- Don’t teach them to be afraid
Some parents may make the mistake of terrorizing their children into doing certain things. For example, they tell you phrases like “If you don’t take a bath, the coconut will take you…”. This promotes fear and fear. Our children will be insecure and fearful, and it will be harder for them to cope.
On the other hand, we could make the mistake of being overprotective. For example, if the children have a problem at school, we go there and solve it. However, we must let children solve their problems for themselves, so they will gain confidence and self-esteem.
3.- Understand the fear of being alone
Rather than forcing them to face fear, we can ask what causes them fear and why. Trying to understand the fear of being alone can provide us with the tools we need to help them deal with this problem.
When talking about this situation, we should pay full attention to the children. So they will see that we are very interested in their problems from a very young age, and in the future they will feel more comfortable telling us about the situations they are going through.
Remember, fear of being alone is a perfectly normal phenomenon in children. And with proper attention and help on your part, your child will successfully overcome it.
