Parents may terrorize their young children without realizing it. Children may develop catastrophic fears that their parents will destroy them. This article describes children’s catastrophic fears and what parents can do to help children deal with their fears. If parents do not help their children, children may still do well in life, but they will have a serious emotional handicap that will plunge them into feelings of helplessness and worthlessness when events trigger their catastrophic fears. Catastrophic fears do not go away on their own. Parents must be attuned enough to help children deal with their fears. This article includes the Parental Attunement Scale. Parents and other care providers can use this scale to see where their strengths and weaknesses are.