One of the peak moments of Christmas is getting your child to see Santa Claus (often referred to as Father Christmas in Nigeria) to receive gifts and just have the experience altogether. While parents expect their children to be excited and beaming with joy, the results sometimes end up being the direct opposite.
Some children cry profusely immediately they set their eyes on ‘Father Christmas’ and some run away to avoid contact with the grotto even if they were eager to, before time. This fear of seeing or engaging with Santa’s grotto is called ‘Santaphobia’.
As a parent, you also may have in one way contributed to this fear by encouraging them to have a sense of danger when they meet strangers. Jamie Howard, a clinical psychologist at the Child Mind Institute, said young children who cry in front of characters like Santa Claus do so out of fear and unfamiliarity.
To ease your child’s Santaphobia, try these 5 tips:
1. Before meeting Santa, explain what he is about to your child(ren). Children are intelligent and just like anyone else, getting into an experience without being told what to expect can cause fear and anxiety. You can show them pictures of Santa or pictures of Santa with other children.
2. During the visit, if your child ends up crying, retrieve them immediately and reassure them. This often calms and boosts the confidence of the child. It also helps to know that they can return to their comfort zone after a triggering experience.
3. Give them options. Children often sit on the laps of Santa but you can suggest standing close to him instead.
4. Offer to go through the experiences together. If reassuring them doesn’t help, offer to take pictures, dance and do whatever they would have been doing alone with Santa.
5. Accept if your kids refuse and try something else. If their fears aren’t improving, don’t force them to try it. However, also try not to kill the moment.
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