Every kid has fears. My nieces used to be afraid of dogs. Kieran is afraid of strangers and anyone who wants to come between him and his nursies. I’m sure Lennon is afraid of something, but aside from tofu,I haven’t come across it yet (it’s certainly not heights, speed, animals or chocolate). Most fears you can plan for, and usually get around or deal with somehow.
Then there’s Jack, whose fears depend on the direction of the wind and the mood of the gods. Last week Jack loved the movie “Cars,” this week he’s terrified of the tractors. One day he adores balloons, and the next (after an especially big one pops), they’re straight from hell.
Yesterday we made our last trip to the San Diego Zoo before our membership expires, and both big boys had been excited about riding on the double-decker tour bus. The same one we’ve ridden on every visit. Jack has even been building double-decker buses with his Little People vehicles and giving his little trains guided tours of the zoo he built in his room (especially Julia). The entire 2 hours in the car he was all a-chatter about the lions and tigers and bus, oh my.
Then we approached the bus, and it happened. It made “the sound.”
“I don’t love that sound.”
And that, as they say, was that.
He wouldn’t get on the bus. He wouldn’t go near the bus. He wouldn’t walk past a bus for fear we’d make him get on it. And when it made “that sound” (the whoosh of exhaust as it departed), he stuck his fingers firmly in his ears and wouldn’t take them out until it was well out of sight.
He did, however, want to ride on the SkyWay.
Much less scary than a bus.
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Have you ever had to change your plans on a dime because of an unexpected fear? Has your child ever jumped right into a new or unexpected situation?
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