5 year olds fear of thunder

[joan]

My 5 year old daughter has recently had an increased fear of thunder that concerns me. She has become preoccupied with the weather on the whole, and if the skies get cloudy, her demeanor noticably changes. She becomes nervous, quiet, and just wants to go and watch TV. She has once or twice had episodes of diarrea (diarrhea) during recent storms, which concerns me. Normally, she is a well adjusted child who has many friends, enjoys preschool, and is quite bright.
  She has always had certain fears, in particular of dogs (since age 2), which has improved considerably since the addition of a guinea pig to our household 2 years ago. The thunder fear seemed normal until about two months ago, when her behavior changed after a particularly severe storm. In addition, she was always very sensitive to loud noises which also has improved considerably. At age three and into age four, she would very often have her fingers in her ears to block the noise level on the street from buses and trucks, and at the movies, something she doesn't do any more.
  Her home situation is extremely stable, loving parents, stay at home mom, and seven year old sister with whom she is quite close. My feeling is that I should get her intervention at this point. I would appreciate any feedback you might have. Thank you.

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

Dear Joan,

You're doing fine from what I can hear. There does not seem to be any need to pursue specialized intervention.

Your daughter has a baseline of some developmentally appropriate fears, coupled with some auditory sensitivity or defensiveness. In light of such a baseline, her current worry re: the weather, and particularly about thunderstaorms, is entirely understandable. With a loving, patient and supportive family environment, you'll likely see this current concern wane, much as you have seen the other concerns wane. Keep doing what you're doing - it works.