I am a huge fan of zombie/ghost television series. Before I got married and had kids, I would research the web for the newest and most recommended scary series/films and spend entire weekends watching them. My favorite series, then, was Ghost Whisperer while some of my favorite films are El Orfanato and REC.
When The Walking Dead came out, Daddy A and I were instantly hooked. We watched one episode per night and followed all the seasons that came out. Then one night, while we were having our daily dose of our zombie craze, The Princess ran to us and said, “Zombie! Scary!” She kept crying up until we turned the television off.
The Princess wasn’t like this before. She usually didn’t mind care when a scary movie is on. But, we realize now that she recognizes what is scary and feels fear towards whatever that is. I was actually surprised when, one time, we entered the house while the lights were still off. She just wouldn’t go in and kept telling me that “It’s too dark!”
It is not like us to use ghosts, monsters and the dark to make The Minis behave so I’m not sure how her fear of such things began. It could be because she was exposed to all the scary movies we’ve been watching or perhaps somehow, at one point, scared her just so she will behave. Whatever happened, well, it sure stuck to her head! I don’t think we can easily reverse those fears now that they seem to have been imprinted on her brain, so the least we can do is to continuously assure her that Mommy and Daddy are around.
What about you, Moms and Dads–What do you do to stop a fear of something from developing in your child? If your toddler fears something already, how do you deal with it?