Tremor Safety
Tremor Safety
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How do I help my child with phobia/fear of fires?
My daughter, age 7, is sleeping in our room on an air mattress and will not go to sleep until we come and lay down with her. She has an extreme fear of fires after seeing the demonstation of a sped up version of a fire spreading through a room. (the one we all saw during fire safety week at school) She feels that we will not get out of the house in time before the fire spreads. We have been through the whole fire plan, have practiced and she understands what to do in case of a fire. She has been to a fire department and has talked with fire safety professionals. She is obsessive about checking that the stove is off and checks the fire detectors each night before going to bed to ensure the "light" is on and the detector is functional. She has been to doctor and put on acid reducing medication due to ulcer-like symptoms from worry. At first I thought she was just pretending in order to sleep in our room, but she has REAL symptoms of fear such as heart racing/palpatations and tremors.
There are some great suggestions on here and they are worth looking into.
Here's an idea. How about giving her some of her own fire safety devices to have in her room. A battery powered smoke detector perhaps could help add a sense of security for her and may not be a bad idea. Is her bedroom on a second floor? Obviously a seven year old wouldn't be able to use an escape ladder without help, but knowing that one was there may also add some peace of mind.
Good luck I hope you get some things figured out that help her.
