Undergraduate thesis.

The study sought to identify the anxieties experienced by preschool children and how they cope in face of these anxieties. The study was conducted through the participation of preschool students from Olivarez College enrolled during school year 2012-2013. Encounters with the children began in September 2012, while the actual interviews were conducted in February 2013. The study used the qualitative approach, specifically, phenomenological. Qualitative research is an approach to facilitate exploration of a phenomenon within its context using a variety of data sources. This ensures that the issue is not explored through one lens, but rather a variety of lenses which allows for multiple facets of the phenomenon to be revealed and understood. In this study, the researchers looked into the experiences of six (6) preschool pupils aged five and six. The researchers interviewed them and asked them to draw anything that represents the things they fear or the experiences which they find fearful or worrisome. The purpose of the study was discussed to the children and to the teacher-in-charge. It was made clear that their identities would be kept confidential. The following were the problems specifically investigated by the researchers: 1. What childhood fears are most ubiquitous based on the stories told by the preschoolers? 2. How do they cope with the described anxieties? 3. What role does the environment play in the development of coping mechanisms of the preschoolers? 4. Based on the findings of the study, what reflections may be drawn? 5. Based on the essence of lived experiences of the preschooler, what storybooks may be developed to address childhood anxieties? On the basis of the interviews and analysis lifted from the drawn pictures. the following answers for the problems were derived: Problem Number 1. Based from the analysis of the drawings of the co- researchers, it was evident that the children were afraid of encounters with doctors, dentists, and nurses. It can be inferred that the children's anxieties were not actually about the people but of the fearful or perhaps painful experience of having to go through the needle of an injection. The persons were just actually associated with the needle or injection experience.It was also evident that the children were afraid of crawling creatures such as cockroaches, rats, and snakes. They encounter these crawling and flying creatures while playing in their gardens or in open spaces close to their homes. One child even emphasized pits or canals close to their homes where these creatures would come out from. Lastly, it was also apparent that the children feared waters whether beaches or flood. Again, the water was associated with the fear of being drowned or engulfed by its big waves. Problem Number 2. Based on the stories narrated by the children regarding their encounters with the objects of their fears or anxieties, they would seek help from parents, older siblings, and other adults present in the area. Since the object of their fears were real and concrete, protection from or the assurance of safety would suffice to settle the feelings. Problem Number 3. The environment, consisting of parents, older siblings, perhaps, older relatives and caregivers, teachers, and other significant adults, play a very important role in the development of coping mechanisms. These people considered to be significant in the lives of the children provide that sense of security that the young children need in order to move forward and cope in face of anxiety-filled experiences. Considering that preschool children are still young and inexperienced. their tolerance for pain and stress can be low to the point that adult intervention is very much needed for them to be able to process the actual experience and the anxiety that goes with it. The adults' input regarding situations and objects in the environment influence the perspectives of children about things. Having adults presenting a positive perspective towards something, a child simply imitates or lifts from which eventually affects the child's personal perspective. Having been exposed to a negative or in this case, an anxiety-oriented perception, the child can merely copy and in turn present his or her personal perspective that is likewise negative. Problem Number 4. First, young children's anxieties are based on reality. This means that the things they fear have been drawn from their previous, actual experiences. Such encounters with injections and medical personnel, rats and other crawling creatures, and overpowering waves have in some ways posed as threats to the children's feeling of safety or balance. Gleaned from the first reflection, the need of children for a safe and secure environment cannot be overemphasized. As young children, they do not yet have the knowledge of how they can protect themselves from real objects of fear other than perhaps fleeing or seeking help. Thus, the physical environment must be able to provide that sense of safety and security Adult intervention is helpful for children to muster their fears or anxieties. Input coming from adults regarding children's experiences can either make a child see things positively or otherwise. How adults process experiences for children can make a child fearful or bold. Problem Number 5. Based on the responses given by the children in view of their anxieties and fears, it would be helpful if processing activities can be implemented in order to help them understand feared situations better. Knowing that children are happy listeners of stories, this can be an avenue for better understanding of a lot of things. As children marvel at settings, plots, characters and their successes at the end, stories become a learning experience. Children become more acquainted with feared situations and experience how other children, such as characters, have responded. Knowing how faithful can young children be with characters they like, they believe that if the characters are able to overcome the feared objects, and so they can. Along this premise, the researchers came up with the following storybooks with the intention of helping children process their anxieties and eventually overcome them. The storybook on preschool anxieties was divided into three sections. Section one an "Ang Batang Takot sa Dentista". The second section is the "Ang Batang Ayaw sa Doktor". The third section is the "Baha". This is the researchers' proposed contribution to the effort to promote the awareness of anxieties experiencing by the preschoolers, and surpass all challenges in order to robust anxieties among the preschoolers. Recommendations Considering the findings and conclusion of this study, the following are hereby recommended by the researchers: 1. Observe children by asking questions about the things they are scared or afraid of, or else the children will be traumatized when they become an adult. They won't be able to forget it when they grow-up. 2. The teachers, parents and guardians should read storybooks related to the fears of the children. Storytelling is the best to built child's mind, for the child have a better comprehension to understand situation in the story. After, the storytelling, they should ask questions and give advice on what the child need to do in order to understand that "fears should not remain as fears" because "fears gives challenge to test themselves on how strong they are as individual". 3. Each Preschool Classroom should have reading corner or storytelling corner so that children can read by their own or teacher can read storytelling to children. Reading corner must have appropriate storybooks for children to encourage children to love reading. 4. Preschool Teacher must conduct activity like role playing on the particular situation that related to the most common anxieties that most children experiences. In this activity children will enjoy and forgot for a while there fears because they feel the enjoyment of doing their role playing. 5. Teachers, parents, and guardians must know that anxieties has an advantage and disadvantages. The advantages of it, children will avoid accident and the disadvantages they will not be expose in hard situations.

When they are currently experiencing it, they will know that everything they do has a consequence and they need to be careful next time.