TAMING FEARS

BABYCENTER sent me this update on my now 33 month old. How appropriate this information was-I had to share.

"Your 2-year-old now

A lively imagination often gives temporary birth to monsters, dragons, ghosts, and other mysterious creatures of the dark. Fear of the dark is common as a child's mind becomes capable of inventing its own stories. (You can actually think of night fears — the result of an overactive imagination — as a sophisticated cognitive development.)

To help calm your child:

Take the fear seriously. Never belittle it or make fun of your child's fantasy.
Skip the logic. A patient explanation that there's no way a monster could live in the closet but only at night won't wash.
Look at the room from your child's viewpoint. Maybe there's a weird shadow that really does look like a spiderweb.
Try some light. The reassuring glow of a nightlight or a light in the hallway has vanquished many a scary creature.
Give a little extra TLC. Often fears reflect some other anxiety in your child's life; she might just want some hugs and snuggles. A happy and secure bedtime routine before your child is tucked in is important, too."

FLIES

Shew, fly, don't bother me,
Shew, fly, don't bother me,
Shew, fly, don't bother me,
For I belong to somebody.

I feel, I feel,
I feel like a morning star,
I feel, I feel,
I feel like a morning star.

How do you help a little girl accept the flies? Sing this song with your little one and with the movement of your hand show how one can shew them away! This is a cute and fun way to conquer the fear. :)

WIND

Ancraophobia - fear of wind. I get it. I really do. Poor V! For now it's driving with the AC rather than with the windows rolled down. Today was the first day in a while where we talked about the lovely breeze and how happy it could make her. Hopefully we can start going to the playground again on a windy or rather light breezy day. That would be lovely. :)

SPIDERS

When I was a little girl my biggest fear was spiders. If I saw one, i would scream bloody murder and my father would come running upstairs and kill the little bugger. My husband grew up embracing spiders, escorting them outside with a paper and glass cup. Well I did my best to shield V of my inner fear. If I saw a spider I would quickly and quietly get my husband and force him to kill/escort the spider OUT of the house. I really feel like I did my best in hiding this fear. But when my husband went to London, he brought back a book called "Aaargh, Spider!." I think he thought it was a cute book and would get our kids to actually LIKE spiders. Well it did the opposite. V is now officially terrified of them. In the bathtub especially. And let me tell you, those little black lint pieces that come out in the water from the cute little toes-look exactly like spiders!

CLEANING LADY

The cleaning lady shows up on Tuesdays and Thursdays at school. The days my daughter goes to school is Monday, Wednesday and Friday. But two weeks ago the cleaning lady started coming on Fridays. Oh boy. As soon as V saw her she started to cry. She wanted "that lady" to leave. Is it the fact that she is using sponges, is Spanish, using Clorox? What could it be? The teachers assured V that she is only there to clean the school. I think V could care less and wouldn't mind a dirty toilet. :)

SLEEPING IS SCARY?

This book Grandpa bought for V's little brother, R. It's quite a benign book (in my opinion) but what do I know!? Every time V sees this book she gets upset. She wants it to go back to Boston. Grandpa lives in Boston. I asked V what was it about the book that upset her? She said she didn't like that the boy goes to sleep. Then continued the sentence with, "and I don't like the napping house. I don't want that book or the napping house." I replied with, "so you don't like books with sleeping people in them?" And she said, "yes I don't like them sleeping." She started to cry wanting this book away-to go away. Far away. Back to Boston.

FEAR THE KING

Purim. King. Fear. "I don't like the finger puppet with the dots on his face! I don't want the King!" Another reason to fear going to school. Thank goodness Purim is soon over. We won't have to check for Kings until next year. Tears for fears. Yes.