Anxious 2.5 year old (long)

Everyusernameistaken

My 2.5 year old boy is very anxious about 3 things: Slipping in the bath, the bell in the gym at drop in play, and hand dryers in the bathroom. He's been a bit nervous about these things for a while but suddenly he's become hysterically afraid, screaming and running away from us when we take him into the gym or bathroom or tub. He is quite verbal so he can tell us exactly what he is afraid of.
He does have a new baby brother so I'm not sure if that has anything to do with it. None of his friends seem to be as intensely fearful as he is. I should add though that other than these intense fears he is a quite a happy, confident little boy.
Right now I'm trying to find a balance between acknowledging his fears and not feeding them. I'm going to bring it up with our doctor as anxiety does run in my family but in the meantime I'm curious what other parents of anxious toddlers are doing to help ease their kiddos' fears.
Thanks!

Everyusernameistaken

Thanks ladies. We're already doing a lot of that so I guess it's we just need to keep it up. Nice to know we're not alone though. Thanks

christinasullie37

Dd used to be fearless of a lot of thing but not so much anymore. She is terrified of the vacuum now and it causes her a lot of distress. It got to the point that Dh would have to take her out of the house so I could use it. Also the hand mixer freaks her out too. I found that letting her investigate them with me has helped. She still doesn't like them but it's getting better.