Between chilling news stories and the omnipresence of social networks, childhood today seems to be crossed by a multitude of real or fantasized dangers. Faced with this collective anxiety, many parents oscillate between two extremes: trivializing the risks or, on the contrary, wanting to control everything. In this context, how can we inform without overprotecting? Christian Richomme, psychoanalyst, deciphers this new parental anxiety and the ways to deal with it.
Parental anxiety that weakens children instead of making them safe
In 2026, informing your child about the dangers of the world without transmitting your own fears has become a real challenge. Indeed, if daily threats are very real (online meetings, early access to violent or sexualized content, etc.), there is nothing good in overprotecting your child: in practice, nearly 40% of anxious adolescents regret “a hyper-controlling parental climate“, more insecure than protective.
“Many parents think they are protecting themselves by constantly warning. But by wanting to anticipate all the dangers, they involuntarily transmit an implicit message: the world is dangerous and you are not capable of confronting it alone.
confirms the expert.
A parental anxiety which has a direct effect on the child’s psyche: it is not the instruction of caution that he retains, but the anxiety that it conveys. He can then develop hypervigilance, diffuse fear, or even generalized distrust.
“During adolescence, this overprotection can even produce the opposite effect: hidden transgressions, digital double life, or total refusal of dialogue. warns Christian Richomme.
Informing is not frightening: it is making the child an actor
Informing a child therefore does not consist of giving them a list of dangers, but of helping them understand what is at stake for them. When a parent speaks calmly, without dramatizing, they provide a reassuring framework in which the child can think.
“In the office, I notice that the strongest children are not those who have been supervised the most, but those who have been taught to recognize their internal sensations. Uneasiness, embarrassment, pressure felt in the face of a message or an encounter are often better indicators of danger than a long preventive speech“, confides the psychoanalyst.
Social networks and meetings: talk about feelings rather than the disaster scenario
Many parents finally mention “extreme scenarios” fed by social networks. However, this language of fear is rarely effective.
“It is often more protective to talk about emotions than threats: explain that a trustworthy adult does not put pressure, that a healthy relationship respects rhythm and consent, that a message that makes you uncomfortable deserves to be stopped“, recalls the specialist.
The child who knows he can speak without being judged or punished is a child who will ask for help. Conversely, someone who feels that the subject is fraught with anxiety or prohibitions will tend to remain silent.
In summary: protecting a child does not mean keeping him at a distance from the world, but helping him find his bearings in it. “Informing without overprotecting means accepting a part of uncertainty while transmitting confidence and discernment. A child who is spoken to without fear learns to think for himself. And this is undoubtedly the best possible protection.” concludes Christian Richomme.