Liam had a hard time going to summer “camp” today. Summer camp is preschool without the learnin.’ Cept with almost four year olds - isn’t EVERYTHING about the learnin’?
Liam has this newish thing where he is getting increasingly AFRAID of things. The worst so far is “bad guys” in movies. And by movies I mean of the Disney/Pixar variety, not so much of this variety (careful viewing…strong LANGUAGE and NASTY VIOLENCE - though I personally LIKE the frequent use of the word “asshole” which I believe has become somwhat jejune). (Did you like how I just dropped the word “jejune” [did you have to look it up?] in the SAME sentence as the word “asshole” - not going to get that on just ANY blog, you know.)
Anyways - I DIGRESS. A lot. Also had a lot of complicated punctuation.
Liam is completely FREAKED OUT now by movies he used to LOVE - like Nemo, the Dalmations, Peeetah Pahhn. Well His preschool-summer camp this year has 4 theme weeks. Disney themes. And on Fridays they show the movie they had as their theme. Last week, his first week, was The Little Mermaid. I signed him up for Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings so that he could see the movie they had touched on all week. So Monday and Wednesday they learned about the ocean and sea life and did arts and crafts and games around such. Then Friday was movie day.
Well Friday Liam was dragging his heels a little bit, knowing it was movie day. But he wasn’t unwilling to go. So I dropped him off and then took Shea to our pediatrician’s walk in hours to check out a bug bite on his leg. It was just a bit infected and we were told to use the hydrocortison and watch for changes. It was great being at the walk in times on a Friday during the summer. We waited like 10 minutes and were seen almost immediately after being placed in a room. Then we left - within about 30 mins of arriving - UNHEARD OF!
On my way back home, my cell phone rings. It’s one of Liam’s teachers who must have apologized about 100x and was telling me that Liam was inconsolable and crying. He wanted to go home. They tried EVERY trick in the book and nothing snapped him out of it. Ok, I told them, I’m on my way.
Turns out that once they put out the sleeping bags and turned down the lights, Liam started crying and saying “I DON’T WANT TO WATCH THE MOVIE! I WANT TO GO HOME!!” When I picked him up he was in the bathroom with the light on and door shut crying. One of his teachers carried him over to me.
Now this is a child who did fine on Movie Day at school about 4 months ago. Same set up, different movie. Today when I was bringing him to camp - no movie scheduled - he was fine. Til we got there. He refused to get out of his carseat and kept rebuckling himself in (clever little man, no?). He said “I want to go HOME!” about 10x. I reassured him over and over that there was no movie, but when Liam is decided - HE IS STUBBORN AS A MULE. Like, puts cement around his feet and doesn’t budge.
I KNEW if he got in the school and his teacher told him “no movie” he would be fine. So I cajoled, I reassured, then I threatened. Nothing worked. So I just grabbed him and picked him up and he is crying “I DON’T WANT TO GO!” I carried him into school where his teachers and the assistants were welcoming everyone. He had a vicegrip on my neck and head on my shoulder but he had stopped crying. His beloved teacher came over and rubbed his back and reassured him that there wasn’t going to be any movie. And that they were going to have fun today. Did he want to go hang up his back pack? He nodded his head and released my neck. I put him down and he went to hang up his backpack.
Phew….
So he’s there now and I haven’t received a call so he will be fine, I know. I’m assuming this change in him is just due to something clicking in his brain about bad guys and being scared by the foreboding music and darkness that is associated with it.
His last “I’m scared” meltdown was on the fourth of July at the local parade. The same parade he watched last year and was fine. This year the militia re-enactment troops scared the everloving SHIT right out of him. It was mostly due to them shooting the damn guns every 500 feet or so. Of course this also happened to occur right IN FRONT of where we were sitting. Every time for like 4 times. He was a mess of hot tears and racing heartbeats. He wanted to go home and go home RIGHT NOW.
Ever since the fourth he has been more jumpy and concerned for loud noises. Asking if they are gunsm whenever he hears firecrackers and such. He has never been jumpy or afraid of thunder but I am wondering if he will now.
Did you as a child or does your child get scared of things to the point of meltdown? How do you calm them or how did your parents calm you? Because Dan and I struggle between being sympathetic and caring to being frustrated.
No… seriously, thank you. I guess they are scared of something til they get older then we are more scared of things for them (driving, dating, alcohol, drugs, etc).
