Specific Phobias
Specific Phobia is characterized by an extreme and unreasonable fear of a specific object or situation. Common phobias include fears of animals, loud noises, the dark, etc. Phobias are very common in children. Infants and toddlers are commonly afraid of loud noises and separation from parents. Preschoolers are often afraid of imaginary figures (monsters, ghosts, the dark). School age children more commonly have more realistic fears (injury, health, school performance, death, natural disasters). We diagnose a phobia when a child's fears are beyond what is age-appropriate and/or when the fear is beginning to cause some difficulty in their lives or within the family.
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