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Focus on the Family Equipping Parents Podcast

Don’t Shut Down their Feelings

Focus on the Family Equipping Parents Podcast

Focus on the Family

Kids & Family, Parenting

4.41K Ratings

🗓️ 6 November 2025

⏱️ 13 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

What should you say when your child says, "I'm scared?" John and Danny bring up some of their experiences of helping their kids overcome fear. Plus, Jim Daly and Michelle Nietert discuss what patterns you should pay attention to if your kid seems afraid.

 

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Transcript

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0:00.0

God is at work and he's calling his people to rise in truth. Truth Rising is a powerful new documentary from Focus on the Family and the Colson Center. See how ordinary Christians choose courage in a culture that needs truth. Watch Truth Rising today and find out how you can become an agent of restoration and hope.

0:24.1

Visit truthrising.com today.

0:26.9

That's truthrising.com.

0:32.3

I wonder if you've had a child come to you and say, I'm scared.

0:36.5

There have been moments where my children

0:39.3

have heard things, suspicious activities outside, and they've been scared, or there are just

0:45.3

things in their head that make them think there's something in the house. I'm John Fuller, along

0:50.3

with Dr. Danny Werta, who leads the focus on the family parenting team.

1:00.7

Admitting fears is kind of a scary thing in and of itself for some children because,

1:06.1

unfortunately, like me, many parents might logic when they hear emotion.

1:08.3

Oh, there's nothing to be worried about.

1:15.7

So I think we have to give our kids a safe place for admitting some of what they're fearing.

1:20.1

I'm imagining, Danny, you had a pretty safe place for your kids.

1:21.0

I've tried to.

1:21.9

Try to provide that.

1:22.8

My wife and I did.

1:26.2

We tried to provide the safest environment for our kids to do it. And it was interesting to see how our kids handled fear differently and expressed that

1:32.4

emotion differently.

1:34.3

And so when they were younger, my son would say, I'm scared and you could see it.

1:38.1

And he was good at articulating that.

1:41.0

My daughter seemed to show more emotion and more behavior when she was scared and we had to

1:45.4

draw that out. Are you feeling scared? Are you feeling upset? And sometimes it came out as both.

...

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