My 2 1/2 year old has a new extreme bug phobia...how can I assure her that there are no bugs in her bed?

Question

She freaks out every time she sees a bug... any bug...I try and tell her they are harmless but its just getting worse. She has been having trouble falling asleep the last few days... she is terrified a bug is going to get her while she sleeps... what do I do???

Answer 1

I agree. You need to show her that bugs are not always bad. I experienced this a few years back with a 3 year old who was deathly afraid of bugs. Where we live, lighting bugs come out every night around dusk. One night I took her outside with her older brother and sister. Each were given a mason jag (dollar store and I bought a few extras for the neighbor kids). I showed her that the bugs would not hurt her by catching them, and holding them in my hand. After awhile she was willing to take the bug. But when it touched her it startled her. If this happens don't give up. Keep at it. And remember don't pressure her to handle the bugs. The fear is VERY real to her. Simply show her that it is safe and make a game of catching the most fireflys.

Another idea is:
Psychologist suggest cureing a phobia by assosiating the fear with a good thing.

I.e. By her favorite snack, for this we will use a cookie. Ask her to step into an area where she can see a bug. Only one step gets one cookie. Now that she has done that continue on until she reaches the bug. Then she will need to touch it. Eventually she will stop fearing bugs because it will be associated with a good thing.

Most importantly. Do not expose her to other people who fear bugs during this time. For the most part, childhood fears are transfered fears. For example, if mommy screams everytime she sees a knife, the child will learn to fear knifes.


Hope this helps. Good luck with your little girl.

Answer 2

My 4-yr-old went through that. He is still afraid but is getting better. Empower her with the bug spray and an ultraviolet bug catcher (an indoor bug catcher that has a fan and a little purple light, it traps the bugs inside so you can let them outside in the morning or kill them if you want too). I used scented water (lavendar in a spray bottle) for bug spray. We also bought huge fake spiders to keep guard (kinda weird but a huge rubber spider that was a little scary in the store really scares off the other bugs at home). We also talk extensively about the ecology of the bug world (I am a Biologist and I still had to do some extra research). We talk about which bugs help us and how some bugs are good and that although bugs are helpful they should live outside.
The main things to do are don't force her to face bugs (and certainly not alone), and never ignore a cry for help. She is too young to be able to compartmentalize her fear and tackle it. She will need to be more mature, wait and see if she outgrows her fear by 6ish and then help her work through it when she is more mature. If you called out in fear you would want someone to come help you, give her that, no matter how awful it seems for you, she is truly terrified and if she wants you to check, you should do so. Help her inspect her bed before night time and give it and the whole room a quick spray before bed then leave the bottle nearby in case of a late night ambush. Be sure that any sentries you place to keep guard are just outside the door or are facing away from her. The friendliest face can look pretty creepy in the dark when you are already scared. Make sure that you do a quick check (don't let her know though) of anything that will look like a bug in the dark (the baubbles on chain-pulls or jewelry hanging from a pushpin that may move in the night or even little lights coming through the blinds). Disguise your check as a little last minute straightening before bed and stash anything that will make you come running in the night.
Good luck

Answer 3

That reminds me of the time that my mom was talking to my son on the phone (he was about 2 1/2 at the time) and she wished him "good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite" which led to about an hour and a half discussion between me and him that there aren't any bugs in his bed.

Depending on how much convincing she needs, you can do a thorough exploration of the bed taking all the covers off and shaking them out and using a magnifying glass to double check. Then you can put some type of "protective barrier" around the bed (crepe paper might work nicely) to make sure that no bugs come near her bed while she's in it.

Answer 4

Get some "bug spray" Get some inexpensive lavendar spray cologne, (check the dollar store) mix it with a bit of water in a spray bottle (again dollar store) put a fake label on (you can make one on your computer) and call it bug spray. At night just before she goes to bed pull the covers back and spray the sheets with the "bug spray". This will ease her mind about bugs and the lavendar scent has a calming effect.

Answer 5

OMg, that gets annoying. My daughter was scared of bugs like crazy. Spiders, mostiquies, and even afids or flying fuzz from dandelions that looked like bugs. And we are huge campers! That was annoying because she would freak out so bad. She is now 7 and suddenly isn't scared anymore. Kinda werid.. she just stopped

As for assuring her that they are not there when she is making them up.. I would get a teddy bear of an insect eater of some sort or dragon fly... something that she will beleive that protects her.. or give her a water bottle and tell her it is bug spray

Answer 6

get some lavendar (because it's relaxing- actually anything will do, even water) spray and every night when she goes to bed, spray all through the covers. leave it on her nightstand and show her how to spray it herself just in case.
Arguing with her will only frustrate her, she believes this is true deep down in her heart, and it won't hurt anything for you to go along with it, it's more important for her to feel understood, trusted and taken seriously..
Also, you might want to get some story books about bugs and other "creepy crawlies" so she can learn more about them- it's really normal at her age to suddenly get a fear like this, so I wouldn't worry about it lasting her whole life- but it's annoying nonetheless.
Have fun, it's a great age, no matter what people say.

Answer 7

The above are all good ideas, but you are not going to be able to guarantee that she wont bump into bugs anyway, so you might like to desensitize her by taking her to the zoo and inspecting the insect house, or visiting a butterfly house. Show her that bugs arnt going to hurt her, so she wont be frightened anymore.

Answer 8

It appears like any individual has scared her with a malicious program telling her it'll chew her. Talk to her and inform her a few insects chew and a few do not. Tell her with out insects many birds and different animals might die considering they might don't have anything to devour. Talk to her approximately the ladybug. Tell her they're pleasant and that the ladybug eats different little or no insects that kill vegetation so that they support us. Get a guide for her to appear at. When a little one turns into that fearful of insects, it's most likely considering any individual (might be a different little one or cousin) scared her by means of telling her they're imply and can chew her. You do not wish her to decide on up insects considering a few can also be detrimental to her. Let her recognize you're there for her. If she unearths a malicious program she is fearful of, name you, and you're going to maintain it. Tell her if she leaves such a lot insects on my own they'll depart her on my own too. Tell her they're fearful of her too considering she is sort of a significant significant to them.