Fear is a device that acts to protect us from hurt - emotional hurt, as well as physical hurt. Many of the more serious behavior problems in children and adults are rooted in a fear of being emotionally hurt. To be laughed at or humiliated, for example, “hurts our feelings” and we will go to great lengths, to protect our feeling of self-respect and pride. This is as important for children as it is for adults.
The child who has grown up in surroundings of reasonable security is unlikely to be fearful. But the child who received little praise is kept from building the confidence he needs to cope adequately with his problems. Because people, especially his parents have shown little confidence in him, he developed little confidence in himself. This made him afraid to try something new for fear he would fail and so suffer ridicule and shame.
But if through the years, he had been helped in his clumsiness, encouraged in his failures, praised for his achievements, then sefl-confidence could have been built and anxiety and fear minimized.