he's 3 today a house fly landed on him arm and he cried long after I got it to fly away... then a bettle got in the house and the screamed and shook...i thought he was badly hurt... when i calmed hm he said there's a bug... how do I get him over this? I was always the bug catching type of girl and his dad is no wimp... i thought maybe catching fireflies would help him not be scared of cute harmless bugs but ...he wanted nothing to so with a jar of lit up bugs...he's 3
2006-06-19 15:55:01 · 12 answers · asked by JeNe 4 in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Toddler & Preschooler
Ok, there may be no reason for his fear. Kids have odd fears. Mine was afraid of foxes, who knows why?
The idea is to desensitize him in an happy fun way. Do not force him to be near bugs or to see bugs or to think you will kame him look at bugs. That is way too scary.
Instead, pick books, games, candies, whatever that show very basic bugs. no details or really bugs that look like bugs right now - just cute bugs. Get him to be comfortable with that. Butterflies are a good choice. most kids are not afraid of them. then move to moths, dragonflies. Read him cute stories of them. Make a snack called "ants on a log" with raisens on peanut butter on celery. Don't force or push him into anything, but be relaxed and have fun with fake bugs.
Then move to more detailed bugs - ones that look real. Read books about them, but in a lighthearted way. Show him a picture of huge ant houses in Africa. Laugh and say they look like huge mudpies. Tell him little tiny ants did that. Tell him those ants live so far away from us in Africa. Show him pictures of a caterpillar tunring to a butterfly. Have him guess how many eyes a fly has. Laugh at how it would be if we had so many. Crickets are another fun bug, and they are in the story of Pinnochio - and the cricket is actually a good guy.
then, when he is comfortable with that, a good way to look at bugs is at ones on the other side of a glass window. They can't get in, and you can touch the glass and they can't get you.
Give him time and he will probably get over it. If you force him or belittle him, he may take longer.
2006-06-19 16:20:33 · answer #1 · answered by mic 4 · 4⤊ 2⤋
My nephew was the same way. He would literally freak out if he saw a bug, even a fake one. My sister started to get annoyed because they're pretty much anywhere outside and come in the house occassionally. So I came up with some special things to get him better aquainted with bugs. Bugs aren't always the most attractive creatures, but don't let this incident turn into future fears or phobias. I would suggest that y'all browse online, go to a park, garden or back yard; or to a library to find more information on diferent types of bugs. Then, have your son write a letter or drawing to the the bugs about how they make him feel or any questions he may have. He can even leave them a treat or pretend newspaper bed or something to keep them "entertained" so they have something more fun to do other than interrupt his daily routine routine if they're ever in the house. Tell them to let them be if they're harmless. If htey come near him, just tell him that they are vary curious about people, because to them we're giants. I don't expect my nephew to like roaches cause I can't stand them myself; so don't try to push him on roaches too much, if you happen to cross one. Be creative!!! Or ask him why he thinks they're scary. Maybe he saw them on a movie, commercial, book, or heard something at a playground gossip fest? In any case, it's obvious he has a negative view on bugs, let him see the positive influence all kinds of bugs have around his community (mosquito control, etc.). Confronting the problem and letting him partake in a solution will make him see that you take his feelings seriously and are willing to help him by working together. Another thing that helped my nephew is role play. I would make up a name and voice for a lady bug, spider, or butterfly around us. I would introduce te bug to him, even if he was 10 feet away, and gave him a voice. He was so interested in what I made the bug say ("Excuse me, can you help me find a flower?" or "I need a good recipie for mud pie...") that he would get closer and closer and ask him questions. Make it short and fun... don't drag it on too long or he'll loose interest. My nephew is still kinds skeptical about some bugs, buthe still comes up to me and says: There'e a bug in the room, can you tell me what he;s saying, cause I can't hear him. I am also planning on buying him a small plastic bug gym for his birthday. It's a plastic dome that comes with little obstacles for the bugs that you catch and put in there. We had one as kids and loved adopting and releasing new bugs every week. Good luck and best wishes to both of you!!!
2006-06-19 22:18:07 · answer #2 · answered by Mexi Poff 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
My son is 2 1/2 & is just getting over his bug 'issues'. We live on a farm so needless to say there are a lot of bugs. Personally, I myself have some bug issues so I just have to be really careful that I don't make a big deal out of the spider that's crawling down the living room wall. I've noticed that if I don't make a big deal out of it neither does he. Also- I think this helped but it was accidental. I found him a cute little T-shirt on clearance one day that had bugs on it- they look real. He was leary of it at first but now he proudly wears his "bug shirt". I think he's starting to finally see that bugs aren't always bad & we are working through it. And as far as saying spider over & over- mine says "what" a million times a day- I think it's a 2 thing! As far as the spiders go- have you tried bug bombing your house? We did ours before we moved in & it made a huge difference. I really don't like using chemicals but I really don't like spider bites either- so something has to give! I'm actually going to do my basement this weekend. You can get these at any home improvement store or Target/Walmart/etc... Just read the directions really good & don't be in the house when your doing this! Also- there is something that you can spread around the outside of your house using a broadcast spreader. It keeps the outside bugs out- my husband does it once a summer just to keep the bugs at bay! Hope this helps!!
2016-03-26 22:15:55 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Wow I feel your pain on this one my 4 yr old daughter is the exact same way and the only advice I can offer is what we did with her is we empowered her. I know this sounds a little crazy but we found a small fly swatter and showed her how to swat a fly if she ever saw one and how to step on bugs outside if one got near her. It sounds a bit harsh but once she got the point that she was so much bigger than the bug and that she had the power to squish them and they would not bother her anymore she is tons less afraid of them, she still has trouble with some like spiders and crickets but when she sees them now she will always yell I will go get my shoe instead of backing herself into a corner and screaming and crying which I will tell you I prefer. My advice is to teach him that he has the power over the bug and therefore the power over his fear.
2006-06-19 17:28:18 · answer #4 · answered by calraisin_98 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
My daughter is nearly three and afraid as well. I keep telling her, "bugs are our friends" but she's not going for it. I can't help wondering if that scene in "Lilo and Stitch" is responsible, the scene where the alien becomes literally covered in mosquitoes and begins howling when he realizes what is happening to him. Has your son seen this movie? It's worth seeing but you may want to spare him the scene to which I'm referring.
Still, people either seem to have an aversion to bugs or not. If this is a life-long thing, and I suspect it is, I am disappointed because I had a lot of fun with bugs when I was a kid. Fortunately, she seems to like all other animals.
2006-06-19 16:09:57 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Keep handling bugs where he can see. Tell him about how bugs are good and bad. Repetition is the way to fight off fear. Remember though, some people never get over the fear of bugs. Good luck. Truster P.S. Read books about bugs to him.
2006-06-19 16:06:07 · answer #6 · answered by Teacher 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
My nephew is the very same way. He is 5 years old now he should have grown out of that by now. I'm thinking maybe Kindergarten will help him. Maybe if your little boy has friends over and he sees that they are not scared maybe he will stop being scared too.
2006-06-19 19:14:37 · answer #7 · answered by mothers finest 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
At his age he still is questioning the world but if he gets use to being around bugs and how harmless they can be he might get over it
2006-06-19 16:13:45 · answer #8 · answered by Paris 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Ok, I am 32 and scared of bugs! Cut the kid some slack! lol
He will grow out of it as he becomes older and braver.
2006-06-19 16:21:13 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
well yeah but if you show him how cool they can be.. and maybe find a worm in the ground and show him they dont hurt and make him hold it and then tell him bugs are good for the earth and if isnt wasnt for the earth we wouldnt be here.. thats what my mom did to my lil cousin
2006-06-19 16:01:40 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋