Conquering her fears

Just like every four-year-old, my daughter has fears. Some are quite understandable, like her fear of the dark, and some are irrational (although genuine fears to her), like her sporadic fear of the wall (which could also possibly be a stalling tactic at bedtime). 

So many times, I'm tempted to say, "You have nothing to be afraid of," or "Thunderstorms aren't going to hurt you," etc., especially when her fears suddenly crop up at bedtime. But it's important for my feelings to be validated, even if they seem irrational to others, and I want to validate hers as well.

A couple months ago, I sat down with her and talked over what things specifically she was afraid of. We talked about why she was afraid, and then we talked about reasons why she didn't need to be afraid of those things. Then we wrote it all down in a book, which I called "Allie's Book of Fears." I had her draw pictures of the fears and reasons to not be afraid that we came up with, and whenever she talks about being afraid, we pull that book out and talk about it.