Fears are a natural stage of the human development and the fear of the dark is the most common also among adults, both male and female.



In the dark, shadows turn alive and can turn into the tremendous monsters which during daylight we succeed to keep concealed.

But this fear is not innate and kids do not experience it until after 2 years. At this age they have already learned a lot about their surroundings and are experiencing autonomy and new abilities with an increasing rate. At the same time, children are gradually emotionally separating by their mother as a rsubsequent result of their freshly conquered independence, but this process can create anxieties which are expressed by the many fears typical of this age.

Children consider the monsters concealed in the dark as real, because they still cannot distinguish imagination from reality and therefore we should never underestimate their behaviour and believe it as a mere tantrum or even be really intolerant forcing them to behave normally thus likely causing the situation to increase and endure for life.

There isn't any magic instruction to help your children overcoming their fears, mostly because every individual has a distinct predisposition and different reactions to the same situation, so that we cannot make a general process.

Probably the best thing to do is to console them, not getting though overprotective. Then we should verify what they watch in tv which, even though appropriate for their age, can sometimes lead to agitation and nervousness. Examine also their toys because sometimes plush we consider really cute or funny can upset them. Moreover, toys' shadows in the dark can be extremely scary!

Never try to make fun of their anxiety even though simply to minimise the problem, but be supportive. Turn on a night light and remain with them a for a while after they get into bed, until their eyes get used to the low night light. You can make them very happy singing them a lullaby or reading a short, delicate fairy-tale or a nice story. Leave their bedroom before they get asleep (if they aren't too afraid this will help them build their personality because with your assistance they will see they can brave their fear...) but leave the night light on the whole night (night lights have a low power consumption) so that they will not be scared if they awake before morning.