What help can I get my 3 year old son

[user1490951051]

My son seems to be scared and frightened of so many things. At home if he hears a noise he will run to me or my wife and hold onto to us tightly; he has been going to a local nursery since Sept but even now he will cry and sometimes just burst into tears; we have both attended the nursery a few times, on stay and plays and he seems to be interacting much with the children. If we take his to the park, he will run around but he won't go on the swings or slides etc because he says he is scared. Whenever I ask him what's wrong, his answer is always the same, 'daddy, I am scared'
His speech and language skills are fine, and the nursery teachers have no concerns with his development but they have flagged up that is seems very cautious and risk averse.

I am concerned that he worried so much and is so scared of things at such a young age. I want him to enjoy his life and not be so scared of things.

What can I do to help him? Should I take him to the GP, or contact his Health Care worker or see what the local council could offer?

[JiltedJohnsJulie]

Have you asked nursery about getting him assessed?

[LuchiMangsho]

Honestly, nothing. Just reassure him and baby steps. Lots of encouragement. Offer to do things with him etc. I had a very cautious and risk averse son and he still is quite cautious at 5. Was much more so at 3. I never ever pushed him into things. Always reassures and offered praise for small victories. Mind you, I am not a very touchy-feely parent at all- I am quite strict and no nonsense. But I didn't think that a strict/no nonsense approach was advisable in this case. He's now 5 and outgrown many of his fears but also now knows that Mummy will never force him to do things and he can come and talk to me about stuff that worries him.

[Asuitablemum]

I would think the best thing to do is not try to minimise his fears. Acknowledge them and give him the language to speak about them. Don't say 'it's not scary', 'stop being silly' type comments. Give him as many cuddles as he needs and don't deny that. If you do this then he will feel safe and the fears will hopefully lessen with age.