Featured Fear: Pedophobia (fear of children/childhood)

There are those who love them. Then, there are those who hate them. Finally, there are those who fear them. Children. Often depicted in film as the epitome of innocence, and in some of the most disturbing horror you'll find quite the opposite. The Bad Seed, The Good Son, Village of the Damned, Children of the Corn, Bloody Birthday, the list goes on. And on. And on. 

To quote Georgia Coiner (and maybe Wikipedia too), "children embarrass us because they point ever too cleverly and clearly to our denial of personal, material, and maternal history." I'll admit, I wasn't exactly an angel myself, and this phobia in particular leaves me scratching my head, but it's all too real. Some sources I've scanned seem to indicate that it's not entirely the fear of children, but the fear of what children may do that really motivates this phobia. Children on the cusp of adulthood in particular, ranging from the ages of 12-14. After all, at that age, raging puberty can drive kids to do pretty crazy things.

With a lot of adults deciding to forego parenthood in western countries, too, they're a little less exposed to kids in their daily lives, and generally may develop a general distrust that may eventually develop into pedophobia, but it's not altogether likely to happen to most of us.

Then, there's the fear of childhood itself, which is really more of a fear of thinking about it, stemming from general trauma as a kid (don't all of these phobias seem to come from that?) The most common, and frankly easiest treatment advised for pedophobia is basic exposure therapy. In time, parent or not, almost anyone can overcome their fear if they try.

Now, with that being said, how about a short skit from College Humor to remind you exactly why you should reconsider getting over your fear?