The program for the neutralization of children’s fears

 

The program consists of several stages, the first of which is DRAWING THE FEARS.

All children love to draw. Even a two-year-old kid reaches for the pencils and paper, trying to “express in creativity themselves”. And after three years, drawing becomes one of the favourite activities of the child, which indicates the development of his imaginative thinking. In addition, through drawing, the child realizes the need to express their feelings and emotions. Psychologists have noticed that children’s drawings convey their interests, hobbies, temperament are a mirror of their inner experiences.

The predominance in the drawings of the baby and gray and black tones can mean a lack of cheerfulness, constant bad mood, a large number of the fears that his psyche cannot cope. When the drawings are dominated by bright, juicy colors – this is most likely a sign of vitality, good mood and optimism.

Before you begin to portray fears, you need to engage the child in the process of drawing. Ask him to draw something on neutral themes: “in the street”, “My family”, “The favourite animals”. At the same time, the theme “My family” has a special meaning. The child should draw all the family members. This will help you understand how the child perceives intra-family relationships. Look where he placed himself, how close he placed his parents. If he found a place in the center of the picture, and next to the parents, then the relationship in the family is smooth and the fears of the baby are not associated with intra-family conflicts. On the contrary, the alarm signal can be the fact that the child drew himself away from his parents or next to only one of them. This means that the family is not going well. It is worth paying the attention to the colours that he used. If he painted himself and his mother in colour, and his father in another colour, then the baby is more in contact with his mother and vice versa.

The next theme of drawing can be: “what is terrible to me dreams and what I am afraid”.

First, talk to the child heart to heart, find out what he is afraid of most; make a list of the fears (“I am afraid of the bear, Baba Yaga, the death, the spiders, the doctors and the fire”, then give the task to draw them. Just because he refuses to paint the fears does not mean they are not there. Most likely, he denies them, which means that it will be difficult for him to overcome them. If he depicted some frightening objects or phenomena in the drawing, then he is ready to overcome his fear.

Do not think that the graphic image increases the fear. On the contrary, drawing reduces the tension from the anxious expectation of something terrible. In the drawing, the fear is not so acute; it depicts something that has already happened, realized, and therefore less terrible.

Drawing should not last more than twenty or thirty minutes. The child can portray several fears, or perhaps just one –from the phenomenon that he is most afraid.

Great importance is also the atmosphere in which the baby is engaged in drawing. The support of the parents, their approval help him self-confidence, overcome the fear.

 

It is important to express your approval of the drawing, to say that you are proud of it, because it is now not afraid of it. Praise will increase the child’s self-esteem, activity and self-confidence. No need to tell the baby that now after drawing, you are sure that all fears will disappear. You would better tell him that he did a great job.

 

If the child is not sure how to draw a particular fear, you can tell him how to portray it (= but only in the most general terms). Remember that the subject of the death must be excluded because it is the most difficult to understand and depict. After all the fears are drawn, be sure to discuss the drawings with your child. Well, when this discussion is conducted in conjunction with other children, the effect of the imitation will help each of them to quickly cope with their own fears.

Show your child your own drawing, humorously describe what it shows. Then ask him if he is afraid now. The negation of the fear necessarily fixes praise. Even if the fear persists, it does not become so strong, because the baby feels your understanding and support.

If the fears remain, offer to draw them again, but now let him portray himself as unafraid. If in the first drawing only the object of the fear was depicted, now the child draws himself at the moment of opposition to it. This position acts as an indirect suggestion and an additional incentive to overcome the fear.

The final theme of the drawings can be: “Who I want to be.” This brings the optimistic note, gives confidence in their abilities and helps to cope with the problems. The kid draws his future, and there is no place for the fears in it. Thus they are neutralized.

The success achieved through drawing in overcoming the fears must be consolidated in the course of the game. Play the game with your child: “Who will tell the best story”. You start by coming up with the story in which the main character is afraid of something, but then overcomes his fear. Then ask to dream up the baby. He can write the story in which the hero can easily cope with difficulties and to overcome the fear. The main character in this story can be the child either himself or a fictional character.