"Mom, don't go, I'm afraid of the dark." Xiaomei grabbed her mother's arm to prevent her from leaving, and had to let her sleep with her. Xiaomei has already gone to kindergarten, but she is still afraid to sleep alone because she is afraid of the dark. Every time she is accompanied by her mother, she can go back to her room to rest when she falls asleep. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and cry to my mother because it's pitch black around me. Almost every child will experience such a situation. They dare not sleep alone, nor go to a dark room alone, and become restless at night. However, these phenomena will gradually improve as the child grows older.

Dr. Liu Yukai from the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University said about this phenomenon of babies: Generally speaking, babies under two months are not afraid of the dark. During this period, parents will take care of them personally, and they will not distinguish between day and night, but they are not afraid of the dark. Not all babies are like this. If the baby is afraid of the dark, then parents can consider turning on a small light in the room that does not affect sleep, so that the baby can see a little light when he wakes up, and when the baby grows up, this situation will will get better. However, parents can't help but wonder, why is the baby afraid of the dark? What are they afraid of?

1. What kind of experience is "fear of the dark" for babies ===========================================================

• 1. A human instinct

In a primitive society where information is not circulated, it is easy for human beings to feel fear and fear of the unknown things produced by nature, but this fear can also make people actively try to avoid risks. The same is true for babies. If babies feel uncertain about the surrounding environment, they will also be afraid, so they can express it by crying and seek the attention of parents.

• 2. A conditioned reflex

Everyone has this habit, and it is easy to think of what they are afraid of when they see something during the day. Just like the story of Cup and Bow Snake Shadow, when children see unfamiliar things during the day, or hear terrible things from their parents, they will come to their imaginations at night. This is a very natural conditioned reflex of the human brain. In order to prevent themselves from continuing to think like this, children will find a safe place for themselves in various ways. The most direct way is to seek help from parents.

• 3. Extreme insecurity

When a child is in an airtight space where he can't see his fingers, his first reaction must be fear. A dark space can make a child feel extremely insecure and seem to have no choice but to cry, which is why children wake up in the middle of the night crying loudly.

Many parents may have such questions, in addition to lack of security, why is the baby afraid of the dark? A baby's fear of the dark is influenced by many factors. Parents who know more about it can provide the baby with a sense of security.

Second, the reason why the baby will be afraid of the dark

• 1. "Animal Psychology"

Piaget, a famous Swiss psychologist, believes that a special psychological phenomenon, animistic psychology, will generally exist in children during childhood, especially when they are three or four years old. To put it simply, children of this age often cannot distinguish between reality and virtuality. They believe that everything is spiritual and alive. Parents should pay special attention not to tell their children some scary stories, and do not let their children watch some scary videos or animations. Children lack the analysis and cognition of horror plots, and it is easy to combine the devil in the cartoon with reality, which leads to fear, and in serious cases, there will be the illusion that the devil will eat him.

• 2. Fear of the unknown

As babies get older, they develop a deeper understanding of what's around them. However, the time children spend in the dark is very small, and because of the limitations of their own knowledge, children will feel that everything they are in the dark is unknown, which increases their fear of the dark.

• 3. Encountering things can make children feel scared

Nowadays, the network is very developed, and children can feel information from all aspects without leaving home. When children play games and watch videos, they will inevitably be exposed to some elements of fear. Children's memory is very strong, and the bad things they see during the day may become uneasy factors when children go to bed at night.

Parents want their baby to be a brave and strong child. To make children brave, parents must help children overcome their fear of the dark. Many parents have this idea but don't know how to implement it. In fact, the best way is by our side, being a caring person in life, observing and noticing the baby's behavior in time, can help the baby get out of the dark shadow.

3. How parents can help their baby overcome the fear of black =============================================================

• 1. Provide protection for the baby

When the baby clearly expresses his unease, parents should give the child a sufficient sense of security. Parents can communicate more with their babies when they sleep with their children. "Can you tell mom why you are afraid?" When a child tells the reason why he is afraid, no matter what it is, parents should listen patiently and give the child correct guidance. Some parents feel that it is ridiculous that their children are afraid of the goblins in cartoons, so they disdain to explain to their children. In the eyes of adults, it is false, but in the innocent world of children, they believe in the existence of fairies. "The baby is not afraid, the gourd baby will protect you, and it will drive away all the fairies." If the child is still uneasy, parents can buy some dolls for the child and put them on the bedside to accompany the child to sleep.

• 2. Let children get used to the existence of darkness

It is natural for babies to be afraid of the dark, but sunrise and sunset are the laws of nature. Parents can tell their children the truth of this, and tell them some scientific knowledge about the rotation of the earth to form day and night changes, so that children can understand the mystery. At the same time, parents can also take their children out for a walk at night. After turning off the lights, they can talk to their children about happy things during the day. These will make the children feel safe in the dark and never be so afraid of falling asleep.

• 3. Block out bad information for the baby

Most of the mobile phone software now has a "teenage mode". When children are playing with mobile phones and watching videos, parents may wish to switch to this mode. Let the children see more positive news. When telling stories to children, you should also be selective, and don’t tell stories that are scary to children. The growth of children requires the protection of parents.

Each of us did not dare to sleep alone and walk alone at night when we were young. Courage and guts are built up bit by bit. In the face of children's fear of the dark and often crying, parents should first pay attention to the people and things around them, and at the same time communicate more with the baby to understand the source of their fear of the dark, so as to prescribe the right medicine and make the baby become brave and strong.

Are your kids afraid of the dark? How did you help him get over it? Welcome everyone to leave a message~