Many toddlers fear what they don’t know. For some children animals are as exciting and interesting and beloved to them as anyone in their family, but for other children animals are downright frightening. If your toddler has a fear of animals you can help them overcome this fear so that they don’t have to spend the rest of their life living in fear of living things that could bring them a lot of joy.

Overcoming the Fear of Animals

Many parents who have a toddler who is afraid of animals just don’t understand the fear that their child is experiencing, and so they are likely to dismiss it or even force their child to be in the presence of animals. The fact of the matter is that this is not the way to go. If your child has a true fear of animals you need to ease them into the process of being with and enjoying the presence of animals. You also need to understand that just because you enjoy being around animals does not mean that your child is going to share that with you.

The first thing you need to do when you have a toddler who is afraid of animals is to read books about animals. Read books that tell the child about animals and choose fictional stories that are positive and show the animals in the best light possible. Even try to choose humorous stories that will get the child laughing and make them see that animals are a source of joy.

From here you may want to purchase or rent movies or television shows that have animals in them. You may find that this is a great way for your child to observe animals without fearing that they will actually come in contact with them. Allow your child to view the animals interacting with one another and with people. If you can, find something that your child can watch that will allow him or her to see the animals interacting with children.

It may be advisable to progress from this stage to observing animals in person. This may be sitting back at a park and seeing other people interact with their animals. From here you may find that your child will be comfortable going into pet stores to visit animals and in time they may even enjoy being around animals. You may need to accept that your child will never be fully comfortable around animals and it may be a lifelong process to feel comfortable around animals. Just make sure that you move slowly and you never force your child to be in the presence of animals if they are afraid.

Posted in Toddler Time

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