to avoid the dog, as a practical, precautionary measure, and cease to feel any further concern; later, he may learn
that the dog is not harmful but playful, and may make himself approach the dog and pat him, until all fear is gone.
Another child may avoid the dog, after the first encounter, but continue to whimper and whine whenever he sees or
hears the dog, even at a great distance; no amount of evidence that the dog is friendly alters his attitude.
The difference in their reactions reflects the different attitudes they adopt toward their fear. The first child, even
though afraid, remains in cognitive control; he does not permit the fear to swamp and overwhelm his
consciousness; consequently, he does not regard the fear and his avoidance of the dog as a reflection on himself, on
his personal worth; he is able to grasp, when the evidence presents itself, that the dog is not in fact a danger to him,
and his policy toward the dog changes accordingly. But the second child is swamped and overwhelmed by fear—
swamped and overwhelmed psycho-epistemologically; his self-awareness is reduced to a sense of all-encompassing
helplessness: nothing is real to him, nothing matters, except that he is afraid; that is why his avoidance of the dog is
experienced as humiliating; and that is why his mind is not open to evidence that could change his policy toward
the dog. (It goes without saying that intelligent parents can make a major contribution to their child's healthy
development by teaching him to handle his fears properly.)
In the life of a young child, a certain amount of fear is to be expected, since the child knows so little and the world
around him is unfamiliar and strange. Normally and healthily, with the growth of his knowledge and abilities, these
fears are overcome and left behind, so that, with the transition to adulthood, fewer and fewer things have the power
to invoke fear in him. The extent to which a child follows this course to full maturity depends on the policy he
adopts for dealing with his fears.
The process of growth presents many challenges to a child; every day presents him with new opportunities to
expand his knowledge and skills, to explore the world around him, and gain greater proficiency in dealing with it.
In the face of certain challenges, a child may experience a measure of apprehension—doubt of his ability to cope
with them, fear of failure—for example, when confronted by the challenge of mastering some new subject or skill.