One of the most common childhood fears is the fear of the dark. It usually appears in children approximately after three years and last for eight or nine years. Fear in children, as well as in adults, is a stimulus that makes us be alert to certain situations. Darkness makes emerge in the small negative thoughts, terrifying tales characters, fear of monsters, ghosts, the ogres, loneliness are many children who do not like to sleep in total darkness. Fear of darkness appears in the evening, at the time of going to bed, when the child is alone in his room. It is a crucial moment for the them. The first thing we must do is delete the total darkness.

The best is to leave on a dim light, the light from the hallway or the bath. There are special for the children room night lights. Some are plugged, others are placed in the wall and is also portable, which can be transported by the child by If you want to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. Then, we must create an environment in which the child feels safe. We can create a ritual before bedtime that accompany them reading them a story, putting the room comfortable as possible and decreasing external stimuli. It is not advisable for children to see the TV before you go to sleep or play too altered.

The hours before bedtime should be as relaxed as possible. Otherwise, the environment makes more likely unanticipated fears and anxieties. Any image seen on TV could alter them. A good alternative to overcome the fear of the dark is resorting to the children’s books that speak on the subject, about darkness and when going to bed, and also to make games in the dark how to play with flashlights, shadows or find things. The fears must try to overcome them so that no is tranformen in phobias. To do this there to normalize them and deal with them. The most usual is that the child is losing the fear of darkness gradually. In about 3 percent of cases the fears are transformed into phobias. If you believe that your child has a disproportionate fear into the darkness that still taking measures, persists, it is best to consult a specialist. Original author and source of the article