In light of the weather related stories with multiple hurricanes and such, it is no surprise that I have had many friends tell me their children are “deathly afraid” of the weather. My good friend in Colorado says her son has nightmares and often asks about the weather as soon as he wakes up.

Growing up for me meant sitting on the front porch while a storm slammed around us. Counting the lightning strikes, listening for the loudest thunder claps were all pretty normal for me. And now my own two kids run to the window when a storm comes, so understanding that sort of fear of weather is new to me.

A quick search of the Internet can find many articles on the subject. But I think parental instinct is key. When your child wants to talk about it, let him or her. The fear of the weather may be fear that the house will catch on fire or the dog will run out into the yard and into the storm. There may be reasons you weren’t aware of as to why the weather makes them fearful.

Yes, my children may not be fearful of weather, but there are plenty of other things that may set them off. My oldest is often scared to go downstairs in the evening if we are all upstairs. Talking with her, she is really afraid of falling down the stairs and no one knowing. I thought it was just a fear of the dark. I am sure I will never figure out the minds of my kids, but I think getting them to talk is a good start.

Amy appears every Wednesday on TriangleMom2Mom. Read more about Amy at A Family Story.