Conquering Fear
Pushing a child to get past a fear has become a hot topic for parents. Should I do it, or not do it? How much pushing is too much pushing? Is there a way to do it so it isn’t traumatizing? Yes there is.
Sometimes the most loving thing you can do is empower your child to get past a fear they have. A lot parents think the only way is to do that is to be really firm and insist they get over it, and do it anyway.
You don’t have to do that. What you can do is empower your child through experience. Joyce Meyer’s quote creates a great family rule for those fearful moments: “Try a thing you haven’t done three times: Once, to get over the fear of doing it
Twice, to learn how to do it
And a third time to figure out whether you like it or not.”
When you ask a child to try something 3 times before he decides he’s never going to do it again, you’re be sneaky and giving him a chance to experience it without judgment. If he still hates it, so be it, but at least he tried.
I had a very fearful child, so I know this can be hard to do. There were times when I needed to support him as he experienced something by literally standing beside him as he challenged himself. It’s worth trying, who knows one day he may rush in and say, “Hey, I DO like climbing!”