Let's see, a show about Sasquatch, giant groupers, and "killer fish." Hmm... Who thinks letting a 4 year old, with an active imagination, watch this is a good idea? Did anyone raise their hands?
Every day since, I get asked, "Do you think Sasquatch really exists? But someone caught him on tape fishing in a river. They saw him on Cougar Island, and he can really swim."
A fear of monsters seems to be pretty common in kids my son's age. It's no wonder. They star in tons of books and movies, and people with a lapse in judgment let them watch shows beyond their comprehension.
So how do we deal with these fears?
- In our house, we talk about the fears. I don't have all the answers, but I know how to listen. It seems to make my son feel better to talk about his concerns.
- We use our imagination to lessen the fears. We imagine good monsters instead of mean ones (Clyde Monster is a great book) and we use monster spray (water in a spray bottle) to keep away any monsters.
- We use knowledge. We research things that scare us and find out the facts, instead of worrying about what could be.
How do you help your kids deal with their fears?
4 comments:
LOL!!! OH NO!!! Well.. we haven't had to deal with many "fears" yet but everything you are doing seems to be wonderful! Our kids need encouragement to know that it is ok to have fears but to also let them know what is rational! I love the monster spray idea!
Oh dear... I don't think that my 4 year old would sit still long enough to watch it... but my 2 year old might!
As for Fear.... you know in general we have been lucky in that realm. He likes to sleep in the dark... he has no problem with closets (monsters) he thinks nothing of stepping on a spider or bug... yeah, pretty lucky!
SO I did a no no last week. My sister and parents were in town and my sister was bored so I told her she can pick a movie. Against my better judgment I let her watch Batman Begins, My 1 and 2 year old were playing with grandma and papa and I didn't think they would look at the tv. They didn't seem interested it in. Then all the sudden my husband and I come back into the living room and everyone is staring at the tv and it's a scary part and my two year old is saying "no, noooooooooo".
oops, I had to immediatly turn it off.
I think your techniques for dealing with fears are great! I can remember the age of being scared of monsters in the closet, under the bed, etc. I think monster spray would have helped. :-) Plus, dealing with fears through conversation and knowledge is a plan of attack that's important to learn young - it certainly still comes in handy now!
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