Psychologists define fear as a strong psychological response that helps humans protect themselves when sensing danger, approaching threats, or even anticipating potential harm. People react in various ways to manage this feeling.
In children, fear is a normal and natural emotion that occurs at all ages. However, sometimes fear can dominate a child’s behavior, affecting daily functioning, social interactions, and routines such as completing homework or sleeping through the night. In such cases, parents—especially mothers—need to pay closer attention.
According to child sleep consultant Dr. Lamis Abdelgawad, there are 7 key differences between normal and abnormal fear in children.
1. Duration of Fear
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Normal fear: Appears during a specific situation and fades quickly once the event ends or the child feels safe (e.g., being hugged or comforted, or offered a small reward).
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Abnormal fear: Persists for long periods—weeks or even months—without decreasing, and may even intensify over time.
2. Impact on Daily Behavior
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Normal fear: Child resumes normal behavior shortly after the fear-inducing situation passes.
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Abnormal fear: Causes major changes in behavior, such as increased aggression, social withdrawal, clinging excessively to parents, or refusing to engage in usual activities.
3. Avoidance of Places or Situations
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Normal fear: Child continues to engage in daily activities after reassurance.
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Abnormal fear: Leads to persistent avoidance, e.g., refusing to enter a bathroom after a scary incident, or seeing school as a punishment even after parental reassurance.
4. Sleep Disruption
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Normal fear: May cause short-term sleep disturbances that resolve quickly with comfort.
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Abnormal fear: Leads to nightmares, frequent night awakenings, and refusal to sleep alone, which can affect the child’s overall health and growth.
5. Physical Symptoms
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Normal fear: Expressed mainly through body language and short-term crying.
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Abnormal fear: Can cause headaches, stomachaches, nausea, rapid heartbeat, and other stress-related physical symptoms, indicating severe anxiety or panic episodes.
6. Withdrawal from Social Activities
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Normal fear: Appears in common fear-inducing situations (e.g., vacuum cleaner noise, darkness, barking dogs, visiting the doctor).
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Abnormal fear: Stops the child from interacting with peers, attending school or kindergarten, or participating in activities they previously enjoyed.
7. Difficulty Expressing Themselves
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Normal fear: Child can point out and communicate the source of fear easily.
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Abnormal fear: Child may struggle with speech, experience stuttering, or have difficulty expressing emotions, sometimes losing the ability to articulate what frightens them.
Summary
Fear is a natural and healthy emotion in children, but persistent, extreme, or disruptive fear may indicate an underlying issue that requires professional attention. Signs of abnormal fear include long duration, behavioral changes, avoidance, sleep disruption, physical symptoms, social withdrawal, and difficulty expressing emotions.
Early recognition and support can help children cope with fear in healthy ways, ensuring their emotional and social development remains on track.
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