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Oh dear.

Well im a bit worried... we go on holiday in 8 weeks to Cyprus and im really concerned about how dd (22 months) is going to react. She is suddenly scared of EVERYTHING... cars, bugs, dogs (we have 2, she loves ours but is scared of others), ducks etc even the wind when its loud. We went to the train station yesterday to pick up my nephew and she was literally shaking in her skin and screaming when the trains where going by and i ended up having to carry her while pushing the double pram as she was so scared... i mean i don't blame her they do whoosh past ever so fast but now i am concerned she is going to get hysterical on the plane on take off and landing as its so loud!! She has been on a plane before but she was only 11 months so didn't have any "fears"

Any ideas how i can tackle this? My sister told me to do some train journeys to get her use to the noise etc but i just know she will get hysterical before we even get on it.

For anyone who has flown with toddlers did the noise bother them at all?? xx

Replies

  • Bless her. No experience but would she wear something like ear phones on an ipod and listen to her fave tunes while taking off? Or watch a portable DVD player once you're actually in the air? Hopefully with all the excitement she'll forget to be scared.
    Xx
  • when we flew to barbados in june evie wasnt really bothered by the niose, she was too busy noseying out the window watching what was going on!

    i think having loads of things to distract your lo might help take her mind off it if she starts getting scared. having lots of familiar things around her might help to calm her down
    good luck
  • I would suggest that she perhaps isn't really frightened of everything at all but as a bright little girl, has learned that if she reacts to things you will give her attention. A child rarely becomes frightened of everything all of a sudden but of course, with your new arrival this may be her way of getting your attention and making sure she is treated like the little baby instead. I remember my little brother being a bit like this when the youngest one came along.
    Perhaps just tell her in a gentle voice that there's nothing to be frightened off - you're a big girl and leave the reaction at that.
    As for the plane, there is so much going on that I think she'll have plenty of other things to occupy her so she probably won't notice the noise. A dvd player and headphones would be the ideal diversion if she does get overly upset.
    Good luck and try to relax and have a fab holiday!
    xx
  • Lily went through a phase like this. The lawn mower, hairdryer, helicopter, plane (we live in a flight path!), washing machine etc etc used to set her off in a panic and she would hide. We would explain she didn't have to be scared and now it has passed. She does always now say ''mummy what's that noise?'' when she hears something new but doesn't cry. Hopefully it'll pass. xxxxx
  • Thanks girls!

    Donna why didn't i think of that?? All of this has been since the baby arrived... i guess that's not a coincidence. When she sees something shes "scared" of she runs to me asking to be picked up saying "oh no, oh no its a *insert word* i.e. plane or train or something" and i always do :roll: I guess i have made it worse.. i didn't even think it could be an attention thing. Hopefully i can nip it in the bud now!

    I do think the train thing was genuine fear though.. it scares me when they whizz past never mind her :lol:

    Thanks again, hopefully with the help of the dvd player etc you will be ok on the plane. Also im going to start catching the train when we go into town instead of driving (train station right next to my house) to try and get her use to the noise and also having to sit still for a while.. another problem which im worried about lol xx
  • Sometimes it takes a fresh pair of eyes to see things differently! I just remember my brother being exactly the same. My mum had still been giving him lots of attention but he was aware he wasn't the 'baby' anymore, by reacting to certain things made my mum hold him again which I guess made him feel like the baby, even if only for a short while.
    I don't think you should ignore her 'fears' as that could make her worse, just make light of them by telling her she's a big clever girl and there is nothing to be afraid of. I'm sure she'll be back to normal soon.
    As for the train, - they do go so fast so no wonder she's a scared but like you said, try taking the train or visiting the station more often so she gets more accustomed to them.
    As for sitting still on the plane, I wouldn't force it - I found that Poppy understood that she had to sit still while food/drinks but then after then I just let her have a walk around (following her obviously!) for a wee while, she was then much happier to sit still for a while longer!
    xx
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