Should phobias in children be remedied early?

Phobias are an unreasonable and undue fear of an event or object. Someone who suffers from a phobic anxiety undergoes extreme fear when they are confronted by particular objects, wildlife or eventualities These feelings and experiences can lead a person to isolation, depression and panic attacks Individuals that suffer from a fear of spiders have an overwhelming and debilitating fear if and when they come into contact with any form of spider.

Phobias can appear at a young age and keep going for a lifetime. Phobias can be a learned behaviour from a parent or sibling or arise because of a given incident or trauma at an early age (e.g. having a spider in the hair). All children have some fears and anxiety for instance stranger danger, separation anxiety and being scared of the boogie man. All of these are a normal component of our development and will almost certainly appear and disappear. If these fears don’t dissipate but actually escalate it is very important for a parent to monitor these anxieties so they don’t become an issue in later life.
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