Across the Same Words collection
Childhood fears: bedtime and unfamiliar situations
Browse fear of the dark, frightening screen content and unfamiliar people or places. Choose the closest situation and explore the relevant book. 10 situation overviews from 7 books.
The child who is fine, and stays fine, and worries youTwo Homes · When it’s more than an adjustmentThe child seems fine and continues to seem fine after the separation. The absence of visible distress becomes its own source of worry for the adults watching.→Something frightening was on, and now it is bedtimeEvery Screen · What is on itThe child saw something frightening on a screen, and now it is bedtime. The image follows them from the device into a dark, quiet room.→Suddenly frightened of one particular person or placeTheir Own Body · When it’s more than a phaseThe child becomes suddenly frightened of one particular person or place. A previously ordinary encounter now brings a focused reaction that repeats around the same subject.→My child is scared of a monster under the bedEvery Night · When the dark is frighteningAt bedtime, the child is certain a monster is under the bed. The familiar bedroom changes after dark, and the unseen space beneath them feels occupied.→Shadows, wind and the house at nightEvery Night · When the dark is frighteningAfter dark, shadows, wind, and ordinary house sounds feel unfamiliar. The same rooms known in daylight take on new shapes and noises once the child is in bed.→"What if something happens to you"Every Night · When the dark is frighteningAt night, the child asks what would happen if something happened to the adult. Bedtime brings a frightening possibility into the quiet space before separation and sleep.→Dreading it for three daysDeep Feelings · Before it even startsAn event is still three days away, but the child is already dreading it. The future appointment occupies the present, returning to conversations and thoughts long before anything has begun.→Fear of making mistakesBig Skills · Calm and recoveryA child faces an activity they could attempt, then pulls back at the possibility of getting it wrong. The mistake has not happened, but worry about it already feels larger than the task itself.→My child is afraid of new or unfamiliar situationsBig Skills · Calm and recoverySomething new or unfamiliar is close enough to approach, but the child hangs back. The activity, place, or person has not become part of ordinary life yet, and hesitation fills the space before contact.→Scary tantrums — when to seek helpBoth Parents · MeltdownsSome tantrums feel different from the difficult outbursts a family usually knows. Their intensity, duration, or pattern leaves the adults frightened and wondering whether this moment belongs in a conversation with a professional.→