Overcoming Thunder Fright

How to Help Children Not be Afraid of Thunderstorms

Dec 28, 2008 Jennifer Wagaman

A couple of simple tips for parents to help their children overcome their fears of loud thunderstorms.

Many children are afraid of thunderstorms. They may hide under their covers, cry or in extreme cases they may scream in fright at every crash of thunder. There are ways that parents can help children to not be so afraid of these loud storms.

Do Not Be Afraid of Storms

The most important thing that a parent can do for a child, who is afraid of thunderstorms, is to not be afraid of the storm. If the parent is afraid, the child will sense that and will subsequently be afraid as well. The more afraid you are, the more afraid your child will be. If you are afraid, pretend that you are not afraid. Make the effort to do things specifically to make life as normal as possible to hide your own fear. The more calm you are during a storm, the more calm your child will be able to be.

In the same vein of thought, make as little a deal about the storm as possible. The more attention you bring to the storm, the more likely your child will be to focus on the noises that are scaring him. When loud thunder booms, you can make a simple comment, “wow that was loud!” and then redirect your child’s attention to something else.

Make up Stories About the Storm

Telling your children cute stories about storms may also help them to not be afraid. Some parents may choose to make up stories about the Angels bowling or playing other fun games. Avoid telling stories that involve arguments and anger, as this will perpetuate the negative emotions that the storm creates in the children.

You can also tell children the story of Noah and the Ark from the Bible. This story is found in Genesis, Chapter 6 through chapter 9. This is the account of the first storm that happened on earth. Explain that there was no rain on earth before this storm, and ask the children how they think the people felt when rain started falling. Tell about how God sent two of every kind of animal on earth to Noah and his family. They all got on the Ark that the family had built, and then the rain started.

You can discuss how Noah and his family felt while they were building the ark, and whether the children would have believed Noah when he talked about rain coming. Ask them what they would have done on the boat for that long and how it would have felt to finally get off after the rain stopped!

Help your children overcome their fears of thunderstorms. Through your own calm spirit during a storm and simple stories that you can tell your children to distract them, you will be able to help your children overcome their fears.

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Teaching Children to Not Fear Storms