random fears in 7 yr old

[Anonymous]

My 7.5 yr old son has suddenly become scare of things like being in a room by himself and he won't to into the downstairs bathroom alone. He say he is scared of ghosts. Apparently, kids at school have been talking about ghosts and "bloody mary" a lot.

I know this will eventually pass, but is there anything I can do to help him get over this fear?

[Anonymous]

Normal. Keep the lights on and reassure.

[Anonymous]

Mine does something similar. I think it's a phase. Eventually I was able to trade out of him what he was scared of and we discussed it and it has gotten a bit better.

[Anonymous]

This is a good book for helping kids deal with anxiety ... https://www.amazon.com/What-When-You-Worry-Much/dp/1591473144

[Anonymous]

Normal. They're at a difficult age where they're hearing all of these new, scary stories but might not be totally able to comprehend and tell the difference between reality and fiction. My DS (7, 1st grade) does the same thing, and has also been learning about bloody Mary at school. We talk about what's real and what's just a made-up story. We also talk about "real" ghosts - spirits, or whatever you believe vs. ghosts in movies.

[Anonymous]

Thanks! Hopefully it will pass quickly. Last week he had an accident where he peed his pants and while he said it was just because he waited to long to go to the bathroom I wonder if it was because he was scared to go in. he said it wasn't, but he has not had an accident since he was 3, so it was really odd.

[j2415]

Hi, while reading your post, I remember my son when he was little. He was afraid of the dark room, he said there’s a monster. I explained that it’s only your imagination, but still he was scared, eventually, he believed me.

I found this good article that says “Childhood fears are normal. Having those fears is a good opportunity to help them practice facing their fears — and practice determining if those fears were based in reality or their imagination." http://bit.ly/2lwG7zX

It helped me in dealing with my son’s fear, it might help you too.
Thank you for sharing.

[Anonymous]

Take tiny steps. If he only goes downstairs with you, start beside him, then move behind him. Or challenge him to go a few more feet each night. Or, even give him a reward for facing the fear. or you do not go down the whole way, but you stay on the stairs and talk so he can hear your voice.

Then, one night, tell him if he dies it on his own (runs downstairs to get a library book) he gets a reward, like staying up an extra 15 minutes.

And time might also fix it. Sounds like there is a good reason his imagination is in overdrive.