What and why children are afraid

The fear felt by all, that's fine. Abnormally be absolutely fearless - it could end badly, because our ability to fear - an effective evolutionary mechanism of self-defense.

It is believed that the fear - this is the first emotion Emotions and culture: how to decipher the emotional code   human. Anyway, psychologists believe that the child passes through the birth canal, covers ultraboundary horror. Maybe because before common belief that children appeared by Caesarean section have a particular courage.

The period of growth and maturation

According to studies, two out of three children in a certain age feel fear, but most often the children are exposed to from two to nine years. At this age the child is already seeing a lot and knows a lot, but not all understand the unbridled children's imagination has not held back by a real understanding of the world.

For example, for a baby of seven months is normal to be afraid of unfamiliar adults, unusual items, countries in the developing situation. In 2-3 years the children are usually afraid of animals. After 3 years, many children are afraid of the dark, most likely occurs during the rapid development of the imagination. Not separating fiction from reality, many children are afraid of fairytale characters, heroes of films and stories. At this age, especially not recommended to frighten the child sorcerers, police or strangers dyadyamb, allowed to watch inappropriate movies or telling scary stories. Real or imagined lack of mother causes fear at all, without exception, normally developing children of preschool age.

With five or six years the child begins to develop abstract thinking, he becomes aware of certain things and scary for many adults .  This is the age of "understanding of death", in 5-7 years, death, loss of loved ones - the main theme of childhood fears .  For many children, these fears are accompanied by a sad mood .  Explain to the child the process of man's earthly life is practically impossible .   In order to comfort him and facilitate the understanding of such important for further development of things, a lot of parents in this age began to speak about religion, about life after death .  But to translate the theme, distracting the child is useless .  To say that he will live forever, and my mother never dies - is meaningless .  Category death of 6 and 7 years old - a reality which the child should recognize as something inevitable, sooner or later in his life .  This reluctance to admit it at once and creates fear, meaning the emotional rejection "rational" need to die .  By the way, if a child grows up in a happy family, his parents understand and support - adaptation is easier .  As psychologists say, both boys and girls aged 6-7 years are most likely to respond to the fears of the emergence of parental conflict .  Emotional sensitivity of children to parental conflict tends to increase with age - remember this .

With the change in the social status of the child - for example, when your child gets at school - there are other fears. "Will I? "" I have time right? "" Understand me? "" They will not hurt me in the new place? "And even, if you like," I have not lost on the way to school? "Sensitive children all the time too control themselves, as it were, strengthening the" external control "over them. Such children in emotionally stressful situations can even get sick.

What to do?

You can give up and say, "grow! "As often happens .  But very often with "special" fears the situation is not so comforting .  The child grows up, and fears are growing along with it .  The child is increasingly expanding knowledge, developing imagination, fantasy, and because it is more and more aware of the dangers that lie in wait for his life .  First, parents should understand: the child is not to blame for the fact that he had a fear of .  Secondly, it is necessary a little to "forget" about the problem of crumbs, t . e .  not to focus attention on this, do not blame, do not blame .  Third: take a look at themselves .  Are not you a demanding baby, you do not exceed their demands, whether your expectations are realistic .  Often, if a child is in a situation of "failure" often do you praise him? Fourth, talk about your child's fears wasps .  However, in an intimate setting, soothingly, and quite seriously .  Sometimes it helps to "magical" effect, the mascot, "spell" Prayer .  Organize "risovatelnuyu" therapy, read and invent tales .

But remember: if you have enough experience and time, and the child has become isolated and visible to the naked eye of his experience - consult a specialist.

How to become left-handers

It is believed that the left-hander - is the person who uses his left hand when writing .  This is not quite true: often left-hander, who are left to carry the vast majority of operations, write with his right hand due to the indiscriminate relearning practiced in schools all over the world until very recently .  Often, the left-hander considered by people with certain developmental disabilities, but statistics show that a specific percentage of left-handers in the general human population is too large to be a deviation: According to estimates of various experts, the left-hander from 10 to 15% of the world's population, that is, currently the world for at least half a billion people who use mainly the left hand .  Although all the same statistics and notes a number of left-handers features that are not explained by science - for example, the percentage of left-handers among many more smokers, more often people with dyslexia Dyslexia - a unique gift or a punishment?   and autism. In addition, the average life expectancy lefties 9 years shorter than in relation to the right-handed.

On the issue of the reasons for the formation of left-handedness among scholars there is no consensus, there are a number of different theories. Confirmed by the most recent data says that the orientation of the main arms affected by the fact, which hand the child is closer to the mouth during fetal development and how it sucks. In this regard, more intensively began to develop the right hemisphere of the brain, which is especially clearly manifested in the child around the age of three - then handedness becomes obvious. According to another theory, the disparity in the pace of development of the cerebral hemispheres and the formation of left-handedness is associated with increased receipt of a child in utero testosterone Five myths about testosterone . Finally, according to the third theory, left-handedness is not anything special, but only one of the variants of the evolutionary development of man, along with right-handed, which under normal conditions of child development over time, giving way to right-handedness, but in any stress How to beat stress? Create an oasis   (negative impact of the external environment, the emotional excitement of the mother) is fixed left-handedness and left-handed person becomes.

Is it dangerous to be left-handed?

Be that as it may, there is no serious scientific research, supported by practical observations and experimentally proven conclusion that left-handedness in itself carries a risk for the physical, intellectual or mental development of a person. Moreover, there are studies that show that left-handers have often more original creative and intellectual abilities in comparison with right-handers. And this is understandable - it was the right brain is more developed in left-handers, and is responsible for creative thinking.

However, the historical perception of lefties far from objective scientific data: until the second half of the XX century to be left-handed is not meant to be like others, was considered synonymous with "being bad." Thus, the ancient Germans considered left-handed people simply inept bunglers, as they were managed with weapons and tools in an unusual way, and that is reflected in the German language, where "left-handed" and "incompetent person" are synonymous. In the Middle Ages, and the left-hander is often accused of all that are accomplices of the Devil (due to dominant opinion, is not supported by Scripture, that the left side of the body is connected with the impure forces). Since the days of the Renaissance attitude to the left-handers it became softer, but left-handed children almost invariably to the present day in the school were forced to write with his right hand.

This practice of modern psychology recognizes wrong and harmful to the child's psyche emerging .  If we take the opinion of modern science, that left-handedness - not an aberration, but rather a scenario, the left-handed child retraining will mean direct violence against its natural biological development .  Similar experiments will almost certainly lead to negative changes in the behavior of the child, it becomes irritable, painful begin to perceive that different from the other, problems with self-esteem and adaptability to communicate with their peers (or too uncommunicative, or, conversely, overly aggressive) .  Therefore, modern pedagogy recommends in such cases, not only to retrain children left-handed, but strongly emphasize their normal as possible by developing the very creativity which activates the "left-handed" the right hemisphere of the brain .

Alexander Babitsky