Sunday, September 04, 2005

Kid Fears

Its common knowledge that Kids' have "Fears". When they're babies, they wake up crying, and you can tell they had a bad dream and you just wish that you could see inside their mind and know what they were dreaming. But as they approach toddler years' and older they are more able to verbalize what their "Fears" are.

Most kids go through the phase of being scared of the dark. But through careful study (not really but go with it) I have discovered that its not always the dark that scares them but what they think is IN the dark. For some kids, its the "Monster in the Closet". For others, its the "boogeyman" under the bed. Other kids had "ghosts". (For me it was the coyotes I believed to live in the hills in view from my bedroom window. I always thought they would turn into Werewolves and come and get me. I was only safe if I was under the blankets with only my face showing.)

My son has reached this stage in his young life. He's not really scared of the dark, he has no problem going to bed. He doesn't have "Monsters in the Closet". For one, he doesn't have doors on his closet for them to hide behind, for another, Monsters, Inc. is his one of his favorite movies, and if a Monster DID come into his room he'd know it was 'Sulley' or 'Mike' to come make him laugh... No "boogeyman" under his bed, he has a bunkbed and lately likes to sleep on top. But even when he did sleep on the bottom, Jack, his dog; checks it out under there often... He also doesn't have "ghosts", he's not really into the whole "insubstantial" thing yet...

My son is afraid of Robots...

Yes, you read that right! Robots! I know, what is there to be scared of Robots? My guess is he's watched "The Incredibles" recently... but I don't know for sure. What I do know is he thinks Robots are going to come out of the shadows and get him. This "fear" doesn't occur near bedtime, or after dark, its in the middle of the day! In the hallway of our house where the laundry room, bathroom and the kids' bedrooms meet, if all the doors are closed it makes the hall very dark. If the wind blows it makes the vents in the laundry room and bathroom rattle. These sounds, along with the doors making the hallway dark gets his imagination going! He thinks Robots are going to come out of the dark. He runs to me and says "they're coming, the orobaughts are coming!" He makes me pick him up and we have to go investigate the hallway, open all the doors, etc. Daily life now includes that when he goes through a door he ALWAYS makes sure to lock it behind him. The Robots can't get past a locked door, in case you didn't know! :-)

The bright side of this fear is he's also discovered how to conquer it on his own. I didn't have to fight off the Robots! (Yea, I don't know if I would have done it the right way to get rid of them) He's become a Super Hero! Super Hero's aren't afraid of Robots! They're strong! They're quick! They have Super Powers! He "flies" around the house! No need for a cape, he's "incognito-man"... But not only is HE a Super-Hero, his hands can be Super-Hero's on their own accord. His cars are ALSO Super-Hero's when he feels out-numbered!

Its quite funny to watch him run around the house till close to passing out from sheer exhaustion. That is, of course, until his Super Powers are corrupted and he be comes a Super Villian (Duh, Duh, Duh, listen for "bad-guy" music playing) and starts chasing the dog... (theoretical question: How do I convince him that a Super Hero would NEVER chase the dog?)

But I'm happy to say that I believe this is going to be a short-lived phase. That is until he discovers something else that lives in the dark. He hasn't brought up the Robots for a day or two, but he still likes to lock the doors behind him. ( I think this is now mostly because he thinks its funny to lock Mommy out of her own room!)

And in case when you saw the title and thought this was going to be another Indigo Girls blog and were disappointed to read that the topic of my post really did have to do with Kid Fears; Here's a little "Kid Fears" lyrics to go with it...

"Are you on fire
From the years
What would you give
For your kid fears

Secret staircase, running high
You had a hiding place
Secret staircase, running low
But they all know, now you’re inside

Are you on fire
From the years
What would you give
For your kid fears
Your kid fears"

Posted by ABQ Mom :: 9/04/2005 12:15:00 AM :: 2 Comments:

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