my 3 year old is suddenly afraid of the ground

[bkunz]

when we go to the store he walks fine but if he gets more then a couple feet from us he gets scared and drops to the floor and says he scared he's going to fall and will not get up until I pick him up. he is genuinely scared of something at that point, its not a call for attention. same thing happens when he goes on the jungle gym at the playgrounds at the park. He is fine then all of a sudden he's scared and lays down on the platform and calls for our help. He used to run up and down those things and have no problem walking.

[Sandman2]

Interesting, a couple of things could be going on here - or it could just be a 3 year old being a 3 year old.  
Try making this into a game.  Get a baggie of goldfish crackers or any thing he likes.   Find a nice grassy area and practice falling down and getting up.   Have him fall down with you close to him, and then he gets up by himself.  reward him.  Move farther away and repeat.  You get the idea.   Then you could even move this to the park and practice getting up from the jungle gym.

Of course, there might be some balance thing going on.  Has he had any ear or sinus problems lately?    And yes,  if this does not pass in a couple of weeks, you might want to get professional help.

[specialmom]

How do you react to it?  Are you an anxious person?  I ask because that is often the case when a child is an anxious child.  Otherwise, has anything happened that you can think of?  What happens if you don't go to him when he lays down?  Would he eventually get up?  I'd keep my eyes on this mostly because if he is highly anxious and it is starting to show, it's life long and you will want to seek professional help to give him coping skills.  good luck

[bkunz]

I bet you your right, his mom has anxiety and it could be that he is feeling this