Teach Your Children to Face Their Fears and Have Courage
Everyone in life has fears. Even the people who are confident and may appear as if they have it all together experience fear. The difference is that some people are courageous and do what needs to be done even when they are afraid. When you are courageous you decide to be brave even though you are afraid. Many times after you have confronted your fear enough times you realize you are not fearful of it anymore.
I believe we need to teach this to our children starting at a young age. As parents, we can teach our kids to not let their fears hold them back from accomplishing great things in life. We can help them live successful lives by exposing them to this concept during their youth. In the Christian faith, the Bible teaches us that God will help us accomplish things even if we are afraid. He did not give us a spirit of fear, so when we feel fear we can pray to Him to help us. Isaiah 41:13, says “For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.”
We can teach our children to confront their fears with courage. Many times the more they practice confronting them, the less power the fear has over them. We can explain that there are some things that we are afraid of that are important for us to do. A child might have a fear of speaking in front of the class. You can tell them that this is an important skill that will help them as an adult if they have a career where they need to have discussions during a meeting or event. You can have your child practice at home by having them write a short story and then read it aloud in front of family members.
A child might have a fear of going to the doctor. You can start by explaining to them the importance of going to the doctor which is to check to make sure they are healthy and to get help if they are feeling sick. You can read them a book about going to the doctor, and get them a doctor toy play set to get them more familiar with what going to the doctor’s office is all about.
When your child experiences fear you shouldn’t laugh or tease them about it. That can affect them negatively. Even if we think it’s silly, their feelings can really be hurt and it can scar them emotionally if we laugh at them for how they feel. Maybe you have a memory of being teased about a fear you had. It’s not really fun to be teased about our feelings. We can pretend like we don’t care, but really deep down inside it bothers us.
Whatever fears your children have, as a parent, you can help them overcome them with repeated practice and encouragement. It’s not just a “discuss it one time and now we’ve conquered it” situation. Please understand that this requires time and patience. It’s not always easy. There are many resources available to use to help our kids.
Our children also need to learn to use wisdom when dealing with fear. There are some things in life that we should not do if it will put us in harm’s way. For instance, it would not be wise to get close to a wild lion that you are afraid of because there’s a high probability that you would get hurt. It would not be wise for children to give into negative peer pressure if a group tries to persuade them to do something scary that would hurt them.
I have found from my teaching and parenting experiences that reading books on topics that relate to your kids’ fears is helpful. You can also play songs that sing about being brave and showing courage. Check out the Fun Music List for Kids Set 2- Courage Songs for Kids available on the Free Resources page. God is always here to help us find the tools we need to support our kids. You can do this!