Facing Fears

Original Post: 1/6/25 on CBA Blogfish.

Both children and adults experience fears and anxieties. Factors that can fan children’s fears include being of small size and having limited power and choices. From a social-emotional learning perspective, dealing constructively with one’s own fear clearly requires skills of Self-Management. Helping another individual overcome fear involves Social Awareness and Relationship Skills.
 
In this month’s book, EL CUCUY IS SCARED, TOO! author Donna Barba Higuera does a masterful job of demonstrating these skills for the picture-book audience.

​It’s past bedtime, but Ramón is awake. His family has moved from a desert home to a very different setting. He is about to start a new school. During this dark night, El Cucuy, the hairy, clawed boogeyman of Hispanic and Latin American folklore, jumps out of hiding to frighten Ramón. But Ramón does not react. He tells El Cucuy, “Other things are scarier to me now.” El Cucuy answers, “Yo también” (“Me too”).
 
Ramón and El Cucuy describe their worries: they miss home, the nighttime sounds here are strange, the new school is bigger. And what if children here don’t understand their clothes, speech, and habits? By explaining constructive ways to manage these situations, Ramón coaches and reassures El Cucuy – and, thereby, himself. Finally, Ramón and El Cucuy remind each other of how they’ve each shown strength and bravery in the past.
 
The story validates Ramón’s struggle: the anxieties associated with this move are big enough to make even the terrifying El Cucuy feel insecure. Talking with El Cucuy, Ramón directly faces and diminishes his fears. In doing so, Ramón and El Cucuy model a variety of SEL skills, including the following:
 

• Recognizing that the emotion they feel is fear
• Identifying the sources of their fears
• Recognizing the negative thoughts that stoke their fears
• Replacing those negative thoughts with optimistic, positive thoughts
• Noting the opportunities available in the new setting
• Identifying realistic, positive actions they can implement
• Recognizing and affirming their own strengths
• Identifying who can provide help, and resolving to seek their assistance

 
As a psychologist, I’m impressed that all these skills are represented. I’m doubly impressed that they are woven into the story so naturally. Quite a lot of social-emotional education is accomplished in this picture book! It’s a marvelous resource for the children who need it, and a terrific mentor text for writers crafting SEL stories.