6yr old daughter has irrational fears and it's getting worse.
She has always been a thinker and a little worrier.
But lately it's gotten worse. First it was a fear of lions coming to get her. i think we listen to Nearly every what if possible when it comes to lions escaping a zoo.
And since "day for Daniel" a few weeks ago it's gotten 100 times worse. Cries most bedtime and when her dad leaves the house. She is Constantly asking what if questions about getting kidnapped.
A week ago she must of heard me mention to my husband That some child got touched in a local shopping centre toilet. So on Saturday We were at a restaurant she came out from the toilet (her nan took her, we never left her alone) and burst into tears about what if she was left alone and Did stuff to her. .
Woke up this morning with her next to my bed. As soon as I looked at her she burst into tears and said she doesn't like it when daddy goes to work.
Then after the school she sat on the couch. I could see her start to worry and then asked me if she would get in trouble because she has lost her book she borrowed from the library. I said no Don't worry we will find it.
And then she asked about why her sister needed needles today. I explain it prevents u getting diseases that could make u really sick so she asked if It stops u getting cancer I said no so she started worrying about cancer. Asking me questions about that. (No one in our family has cancer, we never even speak about it)
Then at dinner she burst into tears and said what happens in a few years when she starts walking to school someone tries to kidnap her and She say stop and they don't listen.
It's getting ridiculous!!!
She is great at school. Excell in class. Has a great group of friends. Never cries when I leave her or in class. I mentioned to the teacher about my concerns and she said my daughter has said a few things lately that was a bit of a concern and that she could talk to the school concellor about strategies.
What should I do? Is this major anxiety that needs specialist help?
6 yr old daughter with irrational fears.
6 yr old daughter with irrational fears.
Posted in:
Mental Health, Anxiety & Depression, Kids
2 Replies
Time for a paediatricians visit. You'll probably find a child psychologist hekpful too. They can give you strategies for your daughter to rationalise her fears.
I see the teacher has offered to talk to the school Counsellor about it, but maybe you could too? The one at my sons school was very helpful and we accessed through him a government program called Family Connect, who put me in touch with so many different people that could help my wee man. My son is a negative worrier too (amongst other things), this eventually lead to nightmares of all the things he worried about, like car crashes leading up to road trips, plane crashes for months before planned trips, if an ad came on TV for the news and it was about a gun man or someone holding up a store with a knife (we never watch the news while he's in the room, but cant help when he's watching tv and the ad comes on and I'm cooking tea in another room) he'd be stressing over that then having nightmares too. These night mares were like something out of a horror movie (once I finally got him to open up and talk about them), it got to the point he truly believed that it was real. My suggestion is don't wait, start seeking help now, as there are waiting lists for counsellors paediatricians etc. . . . Also try your GP if you have a good one, I had to change the one I was using as she was useless, the new one is great and has been soooooo helpful and we are now in the right track.