12 year old fear

[allyblue]

My 12 year old daughter expresses fears at night of things like earthquakes, fires etc, which, when I asked her, she agreed is the fear of death. She also said she fears that my husband and I may die and said she can't live without us. As far as I know, she doesn't have any stresses in her life and our family is pretty secure. I have reassured her both that it's normal to feel these fears, that it's ok to feel them but that they're not rational. I explained why the fears are not rational but she's still susceptible to them. Is it a common fear for a child this age - the fear of being separated from us by hers or our death? Is there anything more I can do to help cope with this fear? It's not debilitating or interfering with her functioning but it makes me sad when she's scared and feeling vulnerable and I'd like to help her feel more secure.

[jdtm]

I suspect what you are seeing is "generalized anxiety".  When these irrational fears interfere with one's life, it is called GAD (generalized anxiety disorder).  I might suggest you google the phrase "GAD and children" or "generalized anxiety disorder" or similar words/phrases to better understand this issue.  Perhaps there may be some information on some of these site which might be of help.  I wish you the best ....

[SeriousSam]

Volunteer with red cross and let her start taking classes cpr and disasters if she is otherwise mature.

Kind of like immersion therapy.