Anyone know how to calm unreasonable fears in 20-month-olds?
It’s causing bath issues.
I know what you’re thinking: Oh no! He’s afraid of the drain!
Nope.
Okay, the water?
No.
Having his hair washed?
Nope. Hates that, but he’s not afraid of it.
My child is afraid of fuzz. “Puhzz,” to be exact. I wish I knew where the fear came from because then maybe I could fix it. I just know that one day he was in the tub, saw a little black piece of toe fuzz floating around and freaked out.
He tried to stand up. “Bug! Bug! Out!”
“It’s not a bug, it’s just a piece of fuzz. It’s okay.”
“Puhzz! Puhzz! Out! Out!” He practically climbed the wall.
So, okay. He thinks fuzz and bugs are the same thing. But where did the bug fear come from? I can think of one time he pointed out a spider and then went for it and I told hollered, “No touch!” But I also can distinctly remember holding an earthworm in my palm and encouraging him to touch it. Besides, he knows the difference between a “pie-dah” and a bug. We read Miss Spider at our house.
I guess it really doesn’t matter where this fear came from. Does anyone know how to fix it?
He won’t take a bath. Even if I get him in there, he’s only in for 30 seconds before he remembers “puhzz” and there’s not even any “puhzz” in there because I picked it all out of his toes before he got in like a freakin’ monkey.
The other night, I convinced T Junior to take a shower. His bathtub has one of those hand-held shower heads. He stood in the tub and I hosed him off.
But Tuesday night, he wanted nothing to do with the shower. In fact, he screamed and tried to hold on to the side of the tub. It was like trying to put one of the dogs in the bath.
“Baff!” he wailed.
"Alright, alright."
I ended up filling the tub a couple inches, but he wouldn’t sit down. I took a plastic food storage bowl and filled it under the faucet. Then I dumped water on him as he stood shivering, ankle-deep in non-fuzzy water.
What’s this mom to do?
Posts
3 comments:
Try making up a song about puhz. Maybe that'll will be a start. Will he help you empty the dryer lint thing? That's safe non-wet puhz. How about playing with snippets of yarn and other fuzzy scraps. Maybe come up with some little craft project, or bury a few favorite critters in a little tub full of various kinds of puhz. Playing with batting might be a fun thing? Just a few thoughts. Little boy fears are hardly rational!
Stupid thing just lost my post. Argh. I'll try again w/the short version. Take a bath together for a few days to ease his fears in case there is fuzz, role play that fuzz in the tub is ok and what to do if he finds some by washing a lovie or other critter in the tub together, get a little net to catch fuzz with. You could start by playing a game with the net by catching other things in the tub, and then move onto catching fuzz.
These are great ideas, Kal! Thanks!
Post a Comment
Comments are better than therapy!