Toddler Fear of Heights

Mine have done that too. I think it must be normal. I do the same as you, never force. I let them hold my hand (if I'm in a position to let them) and let them warm up to it on their own whenever that is and however long that takes. It's a healthy thing to be afraid of, though. Some playground equipment can be pretty high. My kids always work through it eventually. They still have a healthy respect for heights, but they don't stay as paranoid. I think time and patience works best.

Try to think of it in terms of development. It is a GOOD thing that he is recognizing that there can be danger in certain situations. He will learn how far he is comfortable pushing that danger envelope a little at a time. I would rather my child be overly cautious and gradually develop a sense of their own abilities than have to learn EVERYthing the "hard" way. LOL

Or worse, have NO sense of danger of anything.

Pull out some toddler development books and see what they have to say.

Mine went through that at about that age. He would climb the slides at the playground, then be afraid to slide down or climb back down. He once got brave on a pre-school trip to Chuckee Cheese, climbed up in the overhead tube maze, then panicked and would not move. His teacher had to climb in there and get him out. She said it was not a good day to wear a skirt to work. LOL

He gradually outgrew his fear and learned to slide and tube crawl with the best of them.

Just be patient and give him time.

:)

As Teresa said, time & patience. Seeing other children climb and use things will encourage him as well, peer pressure has it's value. Don't always hold his hand, if he doesn't venture on his own that's his choice. Right now is a time for him to observe and reason on his own, and it's healthy. My guy is 28 months and feared nothing for the longest, and I have the ER and doctor receipts to prove it. He is now more cautious, he'll still climb and jump, but he's more careful. Just give your son time and be there to encourage : )

This would be pretty normal behavior from a 2 yr old. It's sort of a control issue. Best thing to do is to continue holding his hand until the phase has run it's course. Once he's secure he'll become a daredevil monkey and you will WISH he let you hold his hand again :)

One of my sons went through that turns out it wasn't a fear so much as wanted attention. He saw another kid getting his mom to do that and wanted his mom to do it.

I told him I was too tired so if he is done we may as well go home. He got over it real quick cause he was not ready to go home. I suppose that would be a good test to see if it is a real fear or not. If he says okay, lets go, then you have a real fear on your hands. I guess then he has to grow out of it.

Hi R.,

my 5 year old son, is terrified of heights! but he does suffer from autism and sensory issues, so it's hard for him, but we little by little encourage him to try doing things that might help him, and take it in his own pace. an example I can think of now, it's a few weeks ago we took him to seaworld, he was scared of going up in the shamu stadium but we took it slow, i didn't care what the people behind in the steps were saying....but he did it, even by himself he said he wanted to up in the 3 or 4 stories up playground..u know??? he tried it but he got scared, but i told him "if you want let's walk thru the side of the rope and we can get down in the slide, if you don't want to keep going" well he did, but he loved the slide (and that was really high) and he kept going up and down the stairs to go in the slide...but the most amazing thing was when I told him to go to a small rollercoaster they have for kids, he taught it was a train (he loves trains) and kept telling him it kinda was, we was eager to go in, he sat down excited he did hold on to me, but he loved it.

In my experience, w/kids w/difficulties try little by little, cause if you push them to do something that is scary for them, they will get more terrified and would never do it! Do what you feel is right for your son, remember he is little still, but have patience sooner or later he will overcome it...but he just like everyone, there are people that are scared of heights, dogs, etc...good luck!