Childhood Fears Created by Hang-Ups

Parents often inadvertently create fears in their children through humor or misguided jokes. One mother shared a story where she joked about dropping her daughter off at a fire station, which her daughter later took very seriously. When the fire truck arrived at her daycare, the child panicked, fearing she would be taken away. While the mother reflected on this parenting mishap years later, she's relieved that her daughter overcame her fear of firefighters, yet humorously acknowledged her terrible parenting moment.