Is it normal for a 12 year old to be afraid of the dark?

If your child is afraid of the dark, they're not alone. “It's very common in children and adolescents alike,” says Thomas Ollendick, a distinguished professor emeritus at the Child Study Center at Virginia Tech who has dedicated much of his career to understanding fears and phobias in children.

Should 12 year olds be afraid of the dark?

It is completely natural for your child to be somewhat afraid of the dark, but most children are able to move past their fears over time. For some children and teens, fears can turn into phobias that impact how they function in their everyday lives.

At what age should a child stop being afraid of the dark?

Most kids will actually outgrow fear of the dark by ages 4 to 5, helped along with some specific strategies. But about 20% of kids will have a persistent fear of the dark. “It's not always so easy to unlearn those startled, anxious, fearful responses,” said Mabe.

What do 12 year olds fear?

They may fear getting hurt or that a loved one could die. Schoolage kids may also feel anxious about schoolwork, grades, or fitting in with friends. Preteens and teens may have social fears. They might feel anxious about how they look or whether they will fit in.

Is it OK to fear the dark?

Turns out that fear is pretty normal—experts say being scared of the dark is actually a fairly common thing among adults. According to clinical psychologist John Mayer, Ph. D., author of Family Fit: Find Your Balance in Life, fear of the dark is “very common” among adults.

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Is it OK to be scared of the dark at 16?

Normal for children

Fear of the dark is very common in children and in many cases it's a normal part of development. For example, in 2007 researchers studied a sample of 511 children and adolescents aged 8-16. Of those, 64.2% reported having nighttime fears.

Is it OK to have anxiety at 12?

It's normal for children to feel worried or anxious from time to time, such as when they're starting school or nursery, or moving to a new area. Anxiety is a feeling of unease, such as worry or fear – it's an understandable reaction in children to change or a stressful event.

Can you have anxiety at 12?

It's normal for children to feel worried or anxious from time to time – such as when they're starting school or nursery, or moving to a new area. But for some children, anxiety affects their behaviour and thoughts every day, interfering with their school, home and social life.

Why is my 12 year old scared of everything?

Most fears are a normal, natural part of childhood. However, if a child is afraid all the time, or has fears that stop them from having fun or interfere with their daily life, this could be a sign of anxiety and it may be time to get some professional help.

Why is my 11 year old scared of the dark?

Some children develop a fear of the dark without any specific reason. Others can point to a specific event, such as hearing a scary story, watching something scary on TV or living through a difficult experience, which started the problem.

Is it normal for a 22 year old to be scared of the dark?

This phobia is very common among children but can affect people of all ages. People with this specific anxiety disorder may have trouble sleeping, have panic attacks and may avoid leaving the house after dark. Providers treat nyctophobia with therapy if a fear of the dark is disturbing daily life.

At what age can we start to show anger?

Recent studies have shown that even babies, as young as two months old, have been known to display symptoms of anger when their needs have not been met. As a baby turns into a toddler and develops a sense of 'self', his anger gets expressed in the form of frustration, defiance or temper tantrums.

Is it normal to be scared of death at 12?

Fear of death is common among children. In fact, most kids will experience fearful thoughts about death at some point in their lives. They may have a fear of dying themselves, or they may worry that their parents will die. They may even have fears about the family pet dying.

How do you get over Nyctophobia?

Is it normal to be scared of the dark at 17?

Being afraid of the dark is often associated with childhood, mostly occurring in children ages 6 to 12, according to the Cleveland Clinic. But it's not uncommon for the issue to continue into adulthood.

What does anxiety look like in a 12 year old?

Anxiety may present as fear or worry, but can also make children irritable and angry. Anxiety symptoms can also include trouble sleeping, as well as physical symptoms like fatigue, headaches, or stomachaches. Some anxious children keep their worries to themselves and, thus, the symptoms can be missed.

What percentage of 12 year olds have anxiety?

Anxiety and depression affect many children¹

9.4% of children aged 3-17 years (approximately 5.8 million) had diagnosed anxiety in 2016-2019. 4.4% of children aged 3-17 years (approximately 2.7 million) have diagnosed depression in 2016-2019.

At what age can anxiety start?

Separation anxiety disorder, specific phobia, and social phobia had their mean onset before the age of 15 years, whereas the AOO of agoraphobia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, panic disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder began, on average, between 21.1 and 34.9 years.

What ages is anxiety the worst?

The peak ages for anxiety are typically between the ages of 5-7 years old and adolescence. However, everyone is different, and your anxiety can peak at various times, depending on what triggers it initially. Merely feeling anxious is the body's response to danger as the fight-or-flight hormone kicks in.

What is child OCD?

Children may have an obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) when unwanted thoughts, and the behaviors they feel they must do because of the thoughts, happen frequently, take up a lot of time (more than an hour a day), interfere with their activities, or make them very upset. The thoughts are called obsessions.

Why is the dark so scary?

Children and adults suffer from a fear of the dark for a variety of reasons. For example, darkness impairs one's vision. Not being able to see as well "increases anxiety, uncertainty and tension and this can lead to fear of the dark in any age group," explained Dr.

What is the longest phobia name?

Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia is one of the longest words in the dictionary, and ironically, it means the fear of long words.