Care and Feeding

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Care and Feeding is Slate’s parenting advice column. Have a question for Care and Feeding? Submit it here .

Dear Care and Feeding,

My 7-year-old daughter has developed a fear of getting on a plane over the past year, and we plan on visiting my parents for Christmas. She is terrified that the plane will crash and has been begging me daily not to have our family fly since we told her what the plan was. We don’t live within driving distance, so that’s out. The odds of a plane crashing are small, but they aren’t non-existent, so I don’t feel comfortable telling her that nothing bad will happen. Is there a way to help a child overcome a fear of flying?

—Flying Fears

Dear Flying Fears,

I totally understand her fears. Planes are both big and scary.…