Kids Are More Scared of Spiders Than War

A survey of two hundred and twenty Australian children where asked what scares them the most.

Children had responded by saying animals, bullying and getting hurt rather than war or natural disasters. Out of two hundred and twenty children only three mentioned terrorism.

The study also shows that children's responses change when prompted for answers. When the children were asked directly "if they were scared of terrorism", almost half said they are scared of it "a lot".

In the Queensland University of Technology study, which was published in Australian Children journal, asked the children to list their fears (in any order) then to rank a list given to them.

The first most common answer from 86 of the six to twelve-year-olds the fear of the dark or being lost.

The second most common answer, 81 children, the fear of animals such as snakes, spiders or dogs. Other common answers included the fears of death/injury and bullying.

The boys fear more about being lost or the dark, rather than war. The girls fear more about animals or getting hurt, rather than war. The younger children are more concerned about monsters, 26 kids listing them as their greatest fear.

The children were given a list of 80 items and were asked to rate each one, this showed different results. Out of two hundred and twenty children the top three fears were being hit by a car, a bombing or being unable to breathe. Also on the high list included burglars, fire, terrorists, getting lost, death, the school principal and guns.

Developmental psychologist Michael Burge believes the children's fears of wars and terrorism may be more subconscious.

"On a day-to-day basis fears arising from a child's fantasy such as big monsters or scary animals tend to dominate. But other fears, such as that of war, may be in their preconscious ready to be awakened if asked about it."

Melbourne Zoo's invertebrate specialist Patrick Honan believes children should be cautious about approaching animals they don't know.

"People do get bitten by snakes and dogs, but generally when they are touching them or, in the case of snakes, trying to kill them. But there is no logic to the fear of spiders. Spiders and people coexist very happily."