Children's Fears Post September 11

Increasingly, the Internet and global media are exposing children to images of war, disaster and terrorism. In addition, parents now seem to be more protective of children because of their own increasing fears of child abduction, sexual abuse, drug use, bullying and Internet paedophilia (Tucci, Mitchell, & Goddard, 2005). At the same time, parents also seem to be more indulgent of children’s unrealistic fears, often allowing them to avoid non-dangerous situations, being overprotective and encouraging less independence in their children (Hempenstall, 2003). This paper reports on a study that investigated whether children today have more worries and fears than did previous generations of children. The Fear Schedule Survey – Revised (FSSC-R) was administered to 220 children aged between 6 and 12 years, and the results for self-reported frequency, intensity and content of fears were compared with those of similar studies 10 and 20 years ago using the same instrument. The results are discussed in relation to their implications for helping parents understand and cope with children’s fears