Development of childhood fear

Different types of fear are a common problem in children of all ages. Even though total levels of fear generally decrease with age, specific fears of certain objects and/or situations are more prominent at certain ages. Studies have shown that adolescents tend to suffer from fear less than young children, with a slight spike only during pre-adolescence. It has also been shown that certain types of fear change with age:

0 to 2 years:
most frequent fears include noise, strangers, separation from parents, injury and darkness.

3 to 5 years:
* fear of strangers tends to decrease
* fear of noise, separation, animals and darkness remain at similar levels
* fear of physical injury and masks increases

6 to 8 years:
* fear of masks and noises decrease
* fear of separation, animals, darkness and injury remain the same
* fear of monsters, thunderstorms, loneliness and school show an increse

9 to 12 years:
* fear of monsters, darkness, separation and loneliness decrease
* fear of animals, injury and thunderstorms at similar levels
* fear of schools and exams, physical aspects, social relations and death is more prominent

13 to 18 years:
* fear of thunderstorm is less common
* fear of animals and injury stays the same
* fear of school, physical aspects, social relations and death continues to increase