Understanding Your Child's Fears Starts Here

Bringing up children can be a double-edges sword. On the one hand there's little that gives more pleasure than watching a child develop.
My 9mth old daughter is just learning to sit up alone and pull herself up on steps. I'd like to say that I taught her myself, but the truth is, given the opportunity, children develop along predictable paths. What's incredible to see is how they do this so seemingly independant.
One of the nicest things about infants is that they don't develop 'learned' fears in their very earliest stages. Of course they do have fears but these are generally easy to understand. The fear being alone, they fear loud noises, they fear unfamiliar people. All these are positive things that are designed to help babies manage their tiny universe. - And those of you who have babies will know: the universe really does revolve around them!
But as children grow they also develop other fears which can appear less rational. My son is four and a year or so ago he had to have jabs to go to South America. He was afraid! Quite rational - he had learned what was coming, and he didn't like it.
But afterwards he refused to have a bath or go swimming for several weeks and this fear was a little harder to understand. There was no pain involved, but perhaps there was a FEAR of pain.
It is not uncommon for children to develop many fears. Fear of the dark, fear of being left alone, fear of changes to routine, fear of strangers and many others. As parents we are aware of these fears and want to help our children to overcome them so that they can develop, grow and mature over time.
One of the simplest ways to help is to talk. Obvious. But what's not always obvious is the fact that children find it so difficult to actually explain what they're feeling.
It's all too easy to forget this and try to talk to them as peers, but they just don't have the vocabulary or understanding to do this. However, they really do want you to talk to them, so take it at their pace and don't expect them to understand their own situation any better than you do. They will in time, but parenting is a growing opportunity for children AND their parents!
It's also important to remember that all children are different. It's easy to think that if one child developed a certain way, the next one will too. And this goes for dealing with their troubles too. Children have different personalities and they're quite apparent.
A friend was talking about her two children. The older one was timid and uncertain whilst the younger sister was much more adventurous. Different personalities show themselves in how children talk about things too. Some will be more introvert and not voice their feelings whereas others will talk about every aspect of their emotions.
Neither extreme is wrong or right, but as parents it's important to try and understand where our children are in the spectrum - that way we can respond more sensitively. My son is like me - he'll think about things for a while and talk when he's ready, and he's quite happy with an in-depth explanation.
Take some time to get to know your child's personality. It will give you insight into how to communicate and strengthen your relationship with each other.