Irrational fears...
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Forum Name: Toddler Times
Forum Description: Is bubs growing up and getting into everything? How do you train them to use the potty? When do you start feeding solids? Share your tips and advice here!
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Topic: Irrational fears...
Posted By: KiwiL
Subject: Irrational fears...
Date Posted: 19 January 2010 at 4:40pm
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Jackson is really perplexing me at the moment.
Ever since he was a baby he has been terrified of the vacuum cleaner. When we found out about his sensory issues we figured it had something to do with the pitch of the noise or something. But he also freaks out about the dust buster, so I don't know. This morning he had an absolute hysterical meltdown when he saw his dad with the iron. And just before I was going to the loo and J was in the bathroom happily wandering around. He went up to the shower and was touching the glass and I said "Shower" to him as I normally would to teach him words and he completely lost the plot. He raced over screaming and saying "Up! Up" (note I am still on the loo!) and was inconsolable, clinging and sobbing. I have only just been able to calm him down now about half an hour, and he freaks out whenever I look to be going somewhere. He's normally happily independent at home, so I just don't understand this. Once he vomited on himself and I had to give him a shower, he didn't like it but wasn't freaked out. And it was me saying shower that made him cry. This seems irrational to me and I don't get it. Do kids have strange fears like this and is it normal to flip out? Do they grow out of it? I don't want Jackson to have bizarre fears as he gets older. It's just so strange. Any comments or experience would be greatly appreciated! |
Replies:
Posted By: lilfatty
Date Posted: 19 January 2010 at 7:31pm
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Isabelle has developed a fear of spiders .. or anything that resembles a spider (bits of fluff, my hair on the bathroom floor) .. not sure where it came from, but fortunately she doesnt scream unconsolably just steps backwards and makes us take it away.
She has never liked the vaccuum and she doesnt even like the sound of her toy vacuum. Im hoping she outgrows it. ------------- Mummy to Issy (3) and Elias (18 months) I did it .. 41 kgs gone! From flab to fab in under a year  http://www.femininefitness.co.nz/category/blog - LFs weight blog
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Posted By: FreeSpirit
Date Posted: 19 January 2010 at 8:01pm
| Puppies. Completely irrational - we have a whopping great hellhound at home who she spends all day playing with.... She loves other dogs, but puppies are very, very scary... Tears and screaming and needing to be held, and more crying if the puppy looks at her or walks past.... |
Posted By: Peanut
Date Posted: 19 January 2010 at 8:08pm
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Yip, tractors or ride on mowers. Talks about them all the time, freaks out whenever he sees them. Often he has minor meltdowns about random things to. -------------  
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Posted By: LittleBug
Date Posted: 19 January 2010 at 8:32pm
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Chloe hates showers. She goes nuts when I'm in the shower, even if I'm in there with Ollie and we are bothing smiling/laughing away she will just scream like we are being tortured until we get out, even though DH will be hugging her etc.
She used to hate the lawn mower and the vacuum cleaner but she's okay with them now. Chloe has meltdowns about all sorts of things... like if I try take her socks off. She even wears them to bed. ------------- Chloe (4 years) and Oliver (3 years). |
Posted By: Shezamumof3
Date Posted: 19 January 2010 at 8:40pm
Caden is scared of the washing machine, my dad in his bike gear(even when dad takes the helmet off to show him its "Just Grandad"), he gets VERY hysterical at the dishwasher sometimes if it makes a certain noise, he hides his head down the couch cushions and just goes nuts 
He is scared of rabbits, birds(in pet shops and if they fly into the food courts etc) he will grab at me and get really upset. But, he isnt scared of dogs or cats...just rabbits, birds etc This is a new thing for him as well, he never used to be so scared of such little things. This is all new as well ------------- |
Posted By: mumzrule
Date Posted: 19 January 2010 at 8:58pm
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Lilly has developed all sorts of fears. She use to like riding on the bus but now whenever we walk pass the stop in town we have a complete meltdown. She use to love everything about the bath (even the water going down the drain) but now if we give her a bath (its normally a shower now) when we say its time to get out soon she goes crazy trying to climb out in absolute fear. There are so many more but I will just leave it at that. -------------  
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Posted By: KiwiL
Date Posted: 19 January 2010 at 9:01pm
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Woh, completely normal then!!
JJ didn't want his bath tonight, but finally convinced him by over-enthusiastically singing a madeup song about showers and crocodiles. I stuck all his bath animals over the door of the shower and will leave them there to find. Some of the above fears are so odd, I don't feel so bad now... aren't children random little creatures? Thanks guys! |
Posted By: KiwiL
Date Posted: 19 January 2010 at 9:02pm
LOL! Cute! |
LittleBug wrote:Posted By: emz
Date Posted: 19 January 2010 at 9:04pm
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Do you think it could be after being in hospital? Just because my Jack all of a sudden didn't handle things so well and would freak out about a lot of things, and the play specialists at the hospital said it could be due to his hospital stays/procedures and the way kids try to cope with things (at that age they start seeing things as 'monsters' etc just as they would doctors who are doing horrible things to them).
Could be completely off base though with it, and it could just be my Jack being weird! |
Posted By: KiwiL
Date Posted: 19 January 2010 at 10:04pm
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Good thought Emz, but I don't think so. He is nervous around new people and really does freak out when we go into hospitals, especially when we go into "a room" (two trips for emergency patching up in the last couple of weeks!!), which I think it due to all the poking and prodding all his life, but we've not noticed anything else like that.
That said, he might just end up being a bit of a nervous kid because of what he's been through. You're right though about the age, I think he is just starting to get the concept of scary, and you can never tell what goes through their wee minds. Poor wee Jack... hope he outgrew/outgrows it! |
Posted By: Shezamumof3
Date Posted: 19 January 2010 at 10:48pm
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Thats a really good point Emz.
Caden has been extra senstive since he had Bronchiolitis, cos they poked and prodded him all day at the Dr's and then hospital, and he had to have the nebulizer and spacer, which he totally lost the plot over, now everytime I go to the Dr's he has a MEGA melt down cos her thinks he is getting poked and prodded again  ------------- |
Posted By: mumzrule
Date Posted: 20 January 2010 at 2:29pm
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Lilly loves the doctors. She explores all the different things in the room and when the doctor is examining her she will sit there calm as. But I guess she has never been that sick (hospital sick) -------------
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Posted By: emz
Date Posted: 20 January 2010 at 8:38pm
Yep Jack outgrew it (actually when I refused to take him for anymore testing he snapped out of it  )
But he is talking more about 'scary' etc so it might be something they start learning about before they're able to fully comprehend or communicate? Just a thought... One thing with the vacuum cleaner, I had to leave ours sitting on the laundry floor for 3-4 months before Jack would even go near it. Now he's fine with it again. |
Posted By: peachy
Date Posted: 20 January 2010 at 9:08pm
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DD is terrified of the vaccum, she always has been. When she sees me getting it out, she runs at full speed to the couch and hides under the pillows saying "Mummy off, Mummy off" and cries the entire time I am vaccuming.
She also saw a bird die the other day, it flew into our window and flapped around a bit and then died. Now every time she sees any kind of animal she asks me if it has died ------------- http://lilypie.com">  http://lilypie.com">
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Posted By: SpecialK
Date Posted: 21 January 2010 at 2:18pm
Lol, I still do this 
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Posted By: LittleBug
Date Posted: 24 January 2010 at 7:22pm
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Oh I forgot to say Chloe's most annoying one...
She hates if people have their feet on her chair. So when DH or I rest our feet up on the side of her highchair or something she gets really annoyed and says "no! no! no! no!" and waves her arms frantically until the offending foot is removed from her chair.  ------------- Chloe (4 years) and Oliver (3 years). |
Posted By: mamanee
Date Posted: 24 January 2010 at 9:11pm
| Sam has a thing about animals biting him and often it's things that aren't animals, like bits of wood or an apple. He always says "It won't bite you.." to an apple! Usually it's cats though, he is absolutely terrified of them and will dramatically leap into my arms and sob until I can convince him that it won't bite him. He did it with the baby too. "He won't bite you..." |
Posted By: peanut butter
Date Posted: 25 January 2010 at 10:42am
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Tom doesnt like the vacuum either...but James starts grooving to it ...actually this worked well for us one day. We had left a shop and Tom was throwing a tanty about going back inside. We told him we were going home and he told us he was going to the shop...just as he walked in the door a girl started vacuuming....he ran out screaming with tears streaming down. She felt awful...we were laughing.
Tom is obsessed with the shower but screams if we turn it on...go figure? there are some other equally random things but I cant think off the top of my head. Oh, with the bath...get some bath crayons. they work wonders for enticing stubborn little people into the bath. |
Posted By: Nikki
Date Posted: 25 January 2010 at 2:35pm
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Jake is terrified of anyone with their face painted or wearing face masks. He shakes he is so scared. I think it started around Jacksons age when the big kids at daycare all had their faces painted, so maybe one of them scared him ... cos he always tells us how scarey it is if someone has their face painted.
He used to love the vacuum cleaner, but now will run away yelling. My neice is terrified of my cats - they are Birmans, so the most placid friendly cats you can imagine! ------------- DS (5yrs) and DD (3yrs) |
Posted By: FionaO
Date Posted: 25 January 2010 at 7:40pm
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Finley hates the shower, which baffles me as he is nuts over water, charges into the sea or anything, but shower oh no. Screams if he sees either of us in it.
Used to hate the vacum but now pushes it round when I am doing it, I think he likes the way it blows his hair around ------------- 
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