Scott, age 4, is afraid of the banging of the radiator in his room, the wail of a siren, the noise of thunder. Serena, age 5, and her mother look under her bed every night to make sure there are no witches hiding there. Most adults know that the fear will pass despite the immediate discomfort. Children, however, are not so sure. Although fears are a normal part of development, children deal with them differently.
Some children are more cautious and like to look things over first.
Some children are too fearful to try anything new. The nature of fears and the ways in which children cope with them change with age. To the younger child a minor danger can be seen as an enormous threat. Young fearful children rely on adults to soothe them, but with increasing age, children's increased ability to understand and to use logical reasoning helps them learn to cope with fears. Mastering fears can help a child deal with dangers rather than retreat from them.