Does the type of fear vary by age group?
Reeve says “absolutely.” For young children, the underlying fear of separation from the primary caregiver is most often the catalyst for early childhood fears. Many common fears in young children, such as being afraid of the dark, stem from anxiety over being separated from one or both parents. Nighttime is a time of uncertainty for children because it is the only time they are entirely alone. Without the presence of a parental figure, a child may not feel entirely safe or secure. The dark is only one of various fears that can stem from separation anxiety. Reeve cites the fear of a parent getting hit by a car as the most common. Young children also fear the unfamiliar and the unknown. For young children who are just beginning to organize the world around them, monsters are still in their realm of possibility. They are not entirely sure of what exists and what does not, so their imagination can create incredible things. Older children learn to separate the real from the fictional. They
