Is your toddler feeling scared and you’re wondering what to do? Here are common toddler fears to help you calm them down.

Toddlers are a curious stage in life. Toddlers are at the ripe age of starting to understand the world around them. These curious little kids start to see and hear things unlike they did during their newborn and baby stage. With the learning of new things about life and being more aware of their surroundings come new fears. Many toddlers have some of the same fears during this age, and today I’m going to share the top 5 common toddler fears as well as tips on how to calm those fears so that you can help your toddler cope.

5 Common Toddler Fears and How to Calm Them

Common Toddler Fears and How to Calm Them

Fear of the Dark

Toddlers are now more aware of their surroundings and start to develop a fear of the dark. They cannot see things around them and often have this unprotected feeling when they cannot see in the dark. 

How to Help

Try to show your toddler how to turn on the lights in the house. This way, they know how light their way when scared of the dark. You may also want to put some nightlights up around the home to illuminate their room and perhaps a path to the bathroom and your bedroom during bedtime hours. 

Fear of Monsters

The monster under the bed, the monster in the closet, you name it, a toddler is going to fear it. They have a vivid imagination and often create monsters that they are then very fearful of. 

How to Help

You can explain that monsters aren’t real while showing them that there aren’t any monsters under the bed or in the areas your toddler says they are. You could also conjure up a “go away monsters” potion that you put around the home where your toddler says monsters have been sighted.

Fear of Thunder

Since toddlers are starting to become more aware of the world they live in, developing a fear of weather patterns such as thunder is very common. 

How to Help

Educate your toddler about weather patterns, consider playing outside in some of the safer weather patterns, watch toddler age shows about the weather, and consider picking up some toddler age books to read together so that your toddler can begin to understand that weather won’t harm them. 

Fear of Sleep

This usually develops when a toddler has been experiencing bad dreams or nightmares. This also has to do with your toddler’s vivid imagination combined with being more aware of the world around them. 

How to Help

Be sure to comfort your toddler after they’ve woken up screaming about a bad dream. While they may not understand what’s happening, you should provide comfort and perhaps a stuffed animal as you soothe them back to sleep.

Fear of Separation

Also known as separation anxiety, many toddlers start to develop a fear of separation from their parents. They wonder if you’ll return or not when leaving them at school, a sitter, or with family.

How to Help

While this can be a heartbreaking moment, you must work to alleviate your toddler’s fear of separation by having a healthy goodbye routine. Always be sure that you say goodbye to your toddler rather than sneaking out, as sneaking out will create more fear of separation. 

There you have it, 5 common toddler fears and how to calm them. As a parent, it can be heartbreaking to hear your toddler develop these common fears, but using my tips on how to help your toddler through these fears is the perfect way to teach them about the world around them while helping them trust that they’re safe in the hands of their loved ones. 

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Common Toddler Fears and How to Calm Them