The other day a friend of mine said to me, “My son (who is four) is suddenly afraid of going up the stairs in the house. What should I do?”
“Well”, I said, “Go up the stairs with him.”
It was my first reaction, as it made perfect sense. He’s four; something happened that elicited a new fear. We don’t know (and he probably doesn’t know) what caused it. But he does know that his fear is real. And he can’t make it up those stairs by himself right now. He needs help.