What Parents Should Know About Thanatophobia
Thanatophobia is a specific phobia involving an intense fear of death and dying.
There is help forthanatophobia, thefear of death.
This phobia cuts across religious, social, and cultural boundaries, affecting people of all ages and backgrounds.
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But it can be disturbing for adults when the fear of death surfaces in children.
We generally expect kids to be happy-go-lucky and fearless, and anyphobiacan be difficult for parents to address.
When the fear is of death, it can be particularly challenging to cope.
What Causes Children’s Fear of Death?
There are a variety of factors that can contribute to a fear of death in children.
Generally, some fear of death and dying is normal for kids between the ages of seven and 16.
Some experts also suggest that it can be a normal part of childhood development.
Instead, children see death as a terrifying state of nothingness and don’t necessarily understand what causes it.
These cognitive differences in younger kids also contribute toseparation anxiety, common in children between eight and 14 months.
It also plays a role in other fears that involve being alone.
But magical thinking in children is a normal developmental process.
Kids lack the cognitive capacities, experience, and knowledge needed to always perceive the world rationally.
Instead, most children go through a phase of believing that their thoughts and wishes are all-powerful.
So sometimes kids develop rituals and superstitions designed to protect themselves from those wishes becoming a reality.
Helping a Child With Thanatophobia
In most children, the fear of death will not become pathological.
But kids tend to ask for information when they are ready for it.
Healthy, child-led dialogue can help kids put death in perspective and minimize problematic thoughts and feelings about death.
In reality, phobias can develop for a seemingly endless number of reasons.
Early intervention gives your child the best chances to combat the phobia.
A more severe fear of death, however, may require professional intervention.
Talk to your child’s doctor if you are concerned about their symptoms for further advice and evaluation.
For more mental health resources, see ourNational Helpline Database.
National Alliance on Mental Health.Anxiety disorders.
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.Specific phobias.
American Academy of Pediatrics.Understanding childhood fears and anxieties.
doi:10.1098/rstb.2017.0267
University of Pennsylvania.Specific phobias.
