Fear of the Wind

[tenderhearts]

I have a 3 1/2 yr old dcg who has been with me for almost a year. We have been outside a million times with no issues until about a month ago, she is suddenly afraid of the wind.
I have reassured her that everything is alright and we need wind for sailboats, kites ect. have read her stories about the wind but she just cries out there and wants to hide. I have not been allowing her to do that, I have been encouraging her to play, help me water, go on the slide ect. but she literally is afraid all day knowing we will be going outside.

Has anyone dealt with such fear and know of anything that could be helpful?

[Mike]

Why is she suddenly afraid of the wind?

[Baby Beluga]

Just thinking out loud here - any chance she (or someone close to her) could have been in a storm?

[tenderhearts]

Her parents have ino dea why all of a sudden the. No storms. They thought maybe a cartoon she watched at home but now they don't think it's that. She really won't say why the fear.

[Josiegirl]

Ooh that's a tough one. I have a 3 yo who's afraid of loud noises such as vacuums, blenders, can openers, thunder, trucks, etc. Then I have an 8 yo dcb who is hating the outdoors due to bugs, anything that flies he goes crazy insane. After 15 minutes outside, he constantly asks if we can go back in.
Fears are not fun to deal with, especially within a group.
What kinds of things can produce wind inside the house, such as ceiling fans, box fans and individual fans. Maybe you could all make fans using paper plates and show how they can cool a person down. Or play games such as blow the cotton ball across a table either through a straw or with their mouth. Talk about how it takes wind to blow out birthday candles. Maybe if she could see how she can create wind too, it might not be so scary?
Good luck, it must be stressful for her to worry about going outside all day in case it's windy.

[Josiegirl]

Did she happen to over hear talk about hurricanes or tornadoes? Or catch scenes from news on tv? Or hear anything about 60 mph winds doing damage?

Kids hear and see things we hardly notice, even though we can ask them 20 times to pick up their toys and they pretend not to hear us. Their imaginative little minds take them to some very 'out there' places sometimes.

[Mike]

Ooh that's a tough one. I have a 3 yo who's afraid of loud noises such as vacuums, blenders, can openers, thunder, trucks, etc. Then I have an 8 yo dcb who is hating the outdoors due to bugs, anything that flies he goes crazy insane. After 15 minutes outside, he constantly asks if we can go back in.
Fears are not fun to deal with, especially within a group.
What kinds of things can produce wind inside the house, such as ceiling fans, box fans and individual fans. Maybe you could all make fans using paper plates and show how they can cool a person down. Or play games such as blow the cotton ball across a table either through a straw or with their mouth. Talk about how it takes wind to blow out birthday candles. Maybe if she could see how she can create wind too, it might not be so scary?
Good luck, it must be stressful for her to worry about going outside all day in case it's windy.

Great idea. I have to remember the general idea myself for when fears are involved.
- explain
- create
- have fun
Should help with just about any kind of fear.

[spedmommy4]

Ooh that's a tough one. I have a 3 yo who's afraid of loud noises such as vacuums, blenders, can openers, thunder, trucks, etc. Then I have an 8 yo dcb who is hating the outdoors due to bugs, anything that flies he goes crazy insane. After 15 minutes outside, he constantly asks if we can go back in.
Fears are not fun to deal with, especially within a group.
What kinds of things can produce wind inside the house, such as ceiling fans, box fans and individual fans. Maybe you could all make fans using paper plates and show how they can cool a person down. Or play games such as blow the cotton ball across a table either through a straw or with their mouth. Talk about how it takes wind to blow out birthday candles. Maybe if she could see how she can create wind too, it might not be so scary?
Good luck, it must be stressful for her to worry about going outside all day in case it's windy.

I agree with this. I had a dcb3 who was afraid of bugs. ALL bugs. It was so bad that a fly in our classroom would make him hysterical.

So, we did a two week learning unit on bugs. We learned all about the important bugs jobs have. We read books about bugs. We looked at fake bugs through magnifying glasses at the sensory table. The whole nine yards. After that, he was fine with bugs.

Maybe try something similar? Read some library books. (http://www.everythingpreschool.com/t...wind/books.php). Do some wind experiments. Learn about how the wind helps people. One she figures out its not scary, things should go back to normal.

[laundrymom]

I'm all for educating and informing and trying to make things fun. But should that not work, I suggest a safe area. Possibly behind a slide/chair/ fence that blocks the wind.
For me I'd say
I understand you are afraid. But the wind is important and actually fun to play with. You may sit here in this windbreak and you will still feel it but not as strong. Or you may play with the rest of us.

Then I'd direct her to her spot when you go out. Hopefully she will get used to it and decide to join you.

[Josiegirl]

Blow bubbles outside on a windy day, everybody else will love chasing them and maybe she'll get caught up in that too?

[Unregistered]

She might suffer from ODD. I had a boy who had that. It's an emotional disorder.

[Blackcat31]

I'm all for educating and informing and trying to make things fun. But should that not work, I suggest a safe area. Possibly behind a slide/chair/ fence that blocks the wind.
For me I'd say
I understand you are afraid. But the wind is important and actually fun to play with. You may sit here in this windbreak and you will still feel it but not as strong. Or you may play with the rest of us.

Then I'd direct her to her spot when you go out. Hopefully she will get used to it and decide to join you.

. I agree! Sometimes at that age the fear is escalated by worrisome adults that are trying to help and often times its just something the child needs to come to terms with on their own time and at their own pace.

Wind isnt going to go away and no one can shield her from it forever so ultimately she needs to learn to deal.

Giving her a "safe place" with no further hoopla about the subject and it may go away as quickly as it came about.

[Chickadee-Tree]

I would just be careful to be extremely patient with her, and take it slowly...praise, praise, praise ANY small success or breakthrough. I know how tempting it can be to just say, "You're being silly. Get over it!" But that's not likely to help at all. Maybe try catching her being 'brave' in other areas or situations? "Wow, you're not scared of bugs at all! Spiders make me want to run away screaming, but not you.." Hopefully the confidence boost and positive attention will encourage her to overcome the fears of wind. If there really isn't any reason for her to suddenly become so fearful, maybe it's just purely an irrational fear, with no rhyme or reason to it.

Unfortunately, anxiety and irrational fears in children are at an all-time high-- kids today are more fearful and anxious than they were during the Great Depression, WWII, and the height of Cold War nuclear hysteria...I personally believe a part of the problem is our society's obsession with safety and protecting children. Though it comes from a good place, we've unwittingly begun raising an entire generation of children to live in fear. How many times a day do we say "that's not safe," or "that's dangerous," or some other version of the same phrase? Kids are supervised more than ever, which is not a good thing--and there's evidence to prove it!

"Over the past 60 years we have witnessed, in our culture, a continuous, gradual, but ultimately dramatic decline in children’s opportunities to play freely, without adult control, and especially in their opportunities to play in risky ways. Over the same 60 years we have also witnessed a continuous, gradual, but ultimately dramatic increase in all sorts of childhood mental disorders, especially emotional disorders." https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog...it-and-need-it

"By depriving children of opportunities to play on their own, away from direct adult supervision and control, we are depriving them of opportunities to learn how to take control of their own lives. We may think we are protecting them, but in fact we are diminishing their joy, diminishing their sense of self-control, preventing them from discovering and exploring the endeavors they would most love, and increasing the odds that they will suffer from anxiety, depression, and other disorders." https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog...ntal-disorders

As childcare providers, we need to allow more "risky" play. I know, it's hard to keep your own fears in check--fear of liability, loss of income because parents may term due to an injury, etc... I get it. I'm not advocating stupid and dangerous things here. I'm just saying re-evaluate your idea of "unsafe" activities. The next time you go to say, "No, that's not safe," take a quick second to think it over-- why is it unsafe? Remember that possible injury doesn't always mean probable injury! If it's not an imminent danger, let the kids play...you can always stop or redirect the activity if it's becoming too risky. And really, most of our children are toddlers and preschoolers-- their level of 'risk' is relatively low, mostly they just want to climb things!

Anyways, sorry for going off on a tangent here, I just truly believe that this is an important topic!
Good luck, OP, with your dcg

[tenderhearts]

Thank you for all the tips. I have tried all of them, fan, bubbles, pinwheels, airplanes. Nothing seems to be working.
It seems to make it worse if we are focusing on it like when we are outside, it seems if I can distract her, watering flowers for me, or helping me pick strawberries has helped some and some times she will completely forget then run off and play for the next hour with no concern of it, then other days none of it works.
Yes I agree patience and taking it slow is a huge thing.
I have a girl right now who is afraid of ALL bugs especially flying ones, and I told her to sing shoo fly don't bother me when she saw them and it helped and now you'll just here her run away from the bug and sing, it's better than crying.

[Blackcat31]

Thank you for all the tips. I have tried all of them, fan, bubbles, pinwheels, airplanes. Nothing seems to be working.
It seems to make it worse if we are focusing on it like when we are outside, it seems if I can distract her, watering flowers for me, or helping me pick strawberries has helped some and some times she will completely forget then run off and play for the next hour with no concern of it, then other days none of it works.
Yes I agree patience and taking it slow is a huge thing.
I have a girl right now who is afraid of ALL bugs especially flying ones, and I told her to sing shoo fly don't bother me when she saw them and it helped and now you'll just here her run away from the bug and sing, it's better than crying.

True fear is irrational but consistent. If she can forget about it at times and play until reminded, she is being conditioned to behave as if she is afraid. It nets her attention.

Every time she exhibits fear she gets instant and comforting attention. She's figured out how to get "special".

Smart kid! !