14 Month Old Suddenly Developing Fears

My son went through this, too, and it's normal. As they get older, they develop new awareness and, therefore, fears. My son loved the swing as a baby, but then became afraid of it for a while as a toddler. But, now he likes it again! Same with his other fears--he's not afraid of them anymore.

It is absolutely normal. He is growing up, becoming autonomous, learning that there are scary things in the world. You've heard about the phases of childhood. This is one of them. :0)

Hi A.,
What your son is going through is totally normal, and will pass. Toddlers can go through suddenly being afraid of things that they used to enjoy. Baths, noises, characters, activities, can all become all of a sudden frightening to them. There are even charts out there that list common sudden fears at the various ages.
It's just important to respect their concerns and let it pass. It is not necessary to force them to face the fear. Unless it's something like a bath, I'd simply just work around it -not show the video, or fast forward through that part, whatever. Really, it all passes. I personally believe in not making big deals or giving too much attention to things, so that they don't grow bigger for the child.
Just like so many other things, this too is a phase that will pass.
Happy mothering!
M.

It is totally normal for fears to develop at this age- my daughter did the same. They start to put together all the mental peices of their environment and things they ignored before are suddenly terrifying- for Izzy it was the trash truck, motorcycles, lawn mowers, bugs, the vacume, dad's truck... etc. The best things you can do are, first, reassure him, never dismiss his fear. Hold him and tell him it's okay. But don't avoid the things he fears- let them occur as they naturally would. Knowledge is power for kids this age- mostly they fear things they don't understand. Explain to him exactly what it is he is hearing/seeing and let him observe from affar. Izzy has overcome most of her fears this way. Instead of freaking out when she hears the trash truck she says, "truck, see?" And I hold her up to see the truck out of the window. When I vacuum she goes in her room, but she doesn't scream and cry anymore. The only one we're still working on is lawn mowers. She won't be outside if she can even hear one. But it passes. There's just a lot of big scary stuff out there and our job as parents is to help them understand it all.

PS I think that big elephant on Sesame Street is scary, too!

Hi A.: Your Fearless little guy,is absorbing so much in that little head of his right now.He is taking in everything he sees and hears.You must know,that he also dreams.Imagine if he was dreaming of a favorite toy,and it began running out of control!He may remember that the following day,and be a bit scared of it.If he seems afraid of a toy,sit with him and show him theres nothing to fear. If hes still not sure,remove the toy,for a while,and bring it back in a few weeks. Visuals,like dvds or tv or even cartoons,can leave a lasting impression. Be real picky about what he views.The important thing,is for you to know, that what hes experiencing is normal.Toddlers have a magical imagination,and they can get scared of simple things. Even things that didn't in the past.The more mature he becomes,the more imaginative he becomes..the more fears will come into the picture.Its up to you and daddy to comfort him,and let him know which are real and those that are unfounded.the best to you A.

At this age, this is normal. Remember, as a baby/child grows up, they are ALSO developing "emotions" which they haven't had before, and again, as they grow up/mature they are able to "see" and "feel" and recognize & decipher things in their environment which are unpleasant to them... and the basic context of situations and social and visual constructs. My son, who is now 19 months old, went through that as well, and so did my daughter before him. Teaching a child different facial expressions (ie: sad, happy,mad,frustrated etc.) and the "names" for feelings can be very helpful and useful for a child...it will help them to "understand" things....I did this with both my children and it makes a real difference in how they communicate and indicate things for what they see. There are many books, with pictures or photos, which show all the ranges of human emotions/feelings and the facial expressions which go along with it along with the name of the "mood."
Also, just sit with your son and if he watches or plays with something that provokes fear in him... sit with him, comfort him, Talk with him and "explain" in a way that is understandable for him... and in the end, you may just have to stop showing him that DVD or skip over it. I don't think that its useful to keep showing them a "scary" show.... just show them another one. As a child matures, they will pass this "phase" and go on to others. It may not seem scary to us... but for their young minds and perceptions... it is. My little boy is the same way even though he has an older sister around.
Babies and children "grow-up" and grow "into" and out of phases continually... it's all about ages and stages. I'm sure your son will transition from this as well... but just comfort him... each child, like adults, has their own "comfort-zone" and need for reassurances. Good luck,
~Susan
www.cafepress.com/littlegoogoo

My 12 month old suddenly started being fearful of some of his stuffed animals in his room. My husband solved the problem by first talking to him about the stuffed animal ie: this is what a lion says, they are all your friends and here to protect you while you sleep, etc. Then he made a game of giving the stuffed animals kisses starting first with the ones he liked. When he came to the ones he was scared of my husband gave them kisses and when my son was ready he kissed them too. Now he insists that we give his animals kisses every time he wakes up in the morning or from his naps. Hopefully this is helpful and you can apply some of it to your situation.

Hi A.,

My son went through something very similiar. He was about 2 when it happened. All of sudden he was DEATHLY afraid of any kind of bugs. He saw a mosqito eater that has gotten into the bathroom and he flipped out and would't get into the tub. He was screaming and crying and climbing out. I tried a few more times and then I tried taking him into the shower with me. Needless to say NOTHING was working. I am a clean freak and can't handle when my kids are dirty. Thank God it was summer time because I just took him out on the patio with the baby wash and went to town. My neighbors must have thought I was nutso but at least Zachary was clean. It is just a phase and maybe find something that is cartoon form to ease him. Zachary was also afraid of the rooster in baby einstein......so strange because he loved the series so much. As far as the bugs went...I had him start to watch "Miss Spider" it used to be Nick Jr. but now is Cox channel 109...this is Nick Jr. cartoons 24/7. It can be a real life saver at night especially. Hang in there. I know it is scary and hard. Zachary was my first and so I was extra terrified. I had Gracie 16 months after he was born so things with the second are a lot easier. I hope this helps.

~A.

Funny that you should mention Baby Einstein... although my son loved the videos... the first time I ever saw him get really really scared was watching an B.E. video, at the end a dragon pops out and makes a "blah" noise and it shook him so much he was truly afraid. He was about 15 mo old when that happened. To this day he does not like when things jump out like that on tv or in movies and hates anything in 3D. He is now 7...
Other than that he is a very happy child : )

Hi A.,

I haven't had the experience myself, but it reminds me of an article I read about this being very typical, and just a phase. The author made her point with some humor when she relayed how her little toddler loved Sesame Street, but would scream in fear when one of her videos got to the part where Lena Horn made an appearance - apparently that woman scared her!

"It is hard to see him going through this..." please just turn the DVDs off. He does not need them. They won't make him "smarter." Disney is no longer marketing these videos as "educational"
http://www.commercialexploitation.org/newsletter/february...

I was told something shocking by a brain gym expert... that when children (and adults I suppose) watch TV (anything on the screen) the mind and body goes into "fight or flight." We sort of go into "deer in the headlights" mode, like we are stuck watching and can't escape, but want to. I've experienced that with a very scary movie here and there. Now imagine a very young child, who is watching something (even something mundane like a stuffed animal on the screen) but then is reacting with fear. (What IS that? Is it going to "get" me? Where is my mommy? I want it to stop.) Your child can't speak up, so your child is trying to escape it. I have not heard of this, but there is no sane reason why he needs to "get over it" by way of forcing him to continue watching things that disturb him, unless you completely want him to never watch TV again.

I sometimes let my 3.5 yr old watch TV (Disney DVD film, short noggin shows, commercial free TV, whatever). I feel her heartbeat. Sometimes it's beating fast because she is scared. So I sit next to her and explain what is going on. When I'm holding her, it's not as bad. She loves to watch, but I would hate to make her sit there knowing she is in distress and not sharing that with me.

There is research (in books, it's hard to find on the internet) that suggests that TV viewing with young babies/children leads to less attention span as they enter school. That alarms me. So our TV is very limited. Unfortunately, I have an 8 yr old, so if he watches something, the little one does too. If I just had the young one it would be easier for me to limit/eliminate it as much as possible. And this post is reminding me to work on it.

Read - Endangered Minds: Why children don't think and what we can do about it by Jane Healy.
http://tinyurl.com/ytcsn2

Yes I'm going through the same thing. I have twin 15 month old girls and one of them is doing the same thing. Any sound or anything can scare her and she used to love everything with no fear. She also used to love everybody and now she screams when she sees people. I went to my doctor and she told me it happens to most babies cause at this age is when they start to develop and understand fears and they sometimes grow out of it. I'm hoping mine stops soon cause she's been jumpy for the past week and it bothers me. Hopefully your son will get over his fears I know what you're going through.

This is normal. Just be there for him and soothe him. He'll move out of this stage soon.

my daughter became afraid of the "big cookie" on shrek 2 for the longest time after seeing it about 100 times. i want to say she was about 16 months when it happened and she remained afraid of it for about two months. i think she probably had a nightmare involving a familiar character and it lingered into an actual fear. with her, i just held her when the "scary" part came on and told her that mommy wouldn't let the "big cookie" get her, or just fast forwarded thru it. i was never able to really determine why it scared her, or why it suddenly became non-threatening. try putting all the "scary" toys in a box in front of him and then tell him the box is going bye-bye. put the toys away for a while and then try to reintroduce them a few weeks later. if he's still scared, just get rid of them. they're only toys, after all. if holding and reassuring him during the videos doesn't work, do the same thing as with the toys. there's no need to try to reason with a child that small. good luck.

Hello A.- My little girl who is now 5 was always scared of most everything. The DVD that you are talking about was one of them, the big elephant of sesame street, wicker baskets, Christmas trees, clothing stores with little walking areas (gymboree)...pretty much you name it she feared it. She is a very bright little lady who now has gotten over most of her fears. The way she did it was once she had about five fears she would "let them go" as she acquired more. For example on her 4 birthday she said she is not scared of the bathtub anymore..and she has not cried in it since. (She was always scared of the drain) Anyway she still questions a lot and still has a strong reaction to smells and new situations, but she is very social and an amazing gal. Just to let you no my 2 year old little girl is not scared of anything and they have complete different personalities. Thank God!

Hi A.,

Don't worry. My son had the same issue at the very same age. It was so distressing. He went from a little boy who wasn't afraid of anything to a little boy who TOTALLY freaked out when a gnat flew near him. I really became worried when he was suddenly scared to death of the bath tub. "Bath" was his third word (after mama and dada)- he loved it that much. Whenever I would start running the water, I could hear him coming saying, "bath, bath, bath, bath"! Then one day (at about 16 months), he wouldn't let me put him in the tub. He was freaked out by the shower head. I was so sad for him. I just kept talking to him and showing him that things were not scary. I told him that the shower head was my friend and he sprays water on me like the sprinklers outside that he likes to run through. I actually referred to everything that he was afraid of as my "friend". I told him that Mommy would never be friends with anything mean or scary. It takes time, but he adjusted out of it in a few months and so will your son.

haha, sorry i laugh, just my son developed a fear of the elephants on baby einstein and the owl on sesame street and then on the part of shrek when the princess is singing with the bird (yes, i know it explodes, oops) but a few months later he was fine he saw all those shows over and over before hand and then when he hit fifteen months (i believe) he got those fears...now he is two and is completely fine with all that stuff i think its just a growing imagination...sorry i think its funny, just my son would do the exact same thing and all i could do was shut off the video entirely...