Fears of school-age children Your child may seem anxious about
everyday occurrences. School-age children usually are still
dealing with a number of fears that first developed during their
early childhood, such as fear of ghosts, of the dark, or even of
dying. Every child's fears are different. Parents may not even
recognize that some behaviors are based on fears (for example,
when a child refuses to eat a food that is touching another food
on the plate). Children this age try to deal with, minimize, or
possibly eliminate these fears. They battle fears by playing
good-guy, bad-guy superheroes, by watching scary movies, and by
acting tough and fearless. They may become fascinated by what
they are afraid of and try to overcome their fear by becoming
experts on the subject. For this reason, some children respond
positively to detailed information about subjects that Other
children may seek greater control over situations in response to
fear. They may enjoy fantasy shows and books where the
characters are extremel