Ladybug, ladybug fly away home
In spite of the happy windbreaker story, it appears that our dear, sweet daughter, M, is still terrified of wind much of the time. If it's just breezy she's mostly okay. The windbreaker helps, and the other day we actually colored with chalk in the driveway while wind rustled the trees. I had to explain that wind doesn't come from the trees, but I'm not sure she got it.
Light breezes are okay, but if a gust comes sweeping by, heaven help her. It's so terribly sad to watch your child be tormented by something you have no power to stop.
The weather continues to be a tease here, but when it's nice, it's really really nice, and the other three of us are not keen on staying indoors. So, we're continuing our balance between compassion and reality, thinking that she'll outgrow this fear in time, and until then, small exposures will help desensitize her a bit.
So, last weekend we made a BIG DEAL of going to get a kite. The girls, especially M, have been asking for a kite since October. M promised she'd be okay in the wind to fly the kite. We explained that you can't fly a kite without wind, and she thought the whole idea sounded great.
The girls had to agree on which kite to buy, and they spent much time in advance of our trip discussing what they wanted. Purple on one side, pink on the other. With a kitty cat. All purple. An airplane kite. Yet, when we got to the kite store -- after carrying a terrified M down the Pearl Street Mall because it was windy -- they agreed on a kite with a ladybug on it. I'm simplifying of course, but off we went with our kite in hand to hit a local park.
Oh, the fun. Oh, the excitement. "Put it in the sky! Put it in the sky!" We got it up on the first try, and managed to keep it in the air most of the time, a feat for mom and dad who are rusty at best with kite flying skills. The girls took turns holding the string and running to be under the ladybug. The first ten minutes or so were delightful: M didn't mention the wind, we all laughed and ran around looking like a home movie or something. Slowly, M began to mention the wind, saying she didn't like it even though we need it for the kite. By the time we left she was a mess again, scared and running to the car. O, for her part, had found a deflated soccer ball and kicked it around two feet at a time, bored by the kite and oblivious to her sister.
Progress? Maybe. I think we just have to find a way to keep her functional outdoors until she grows out of this. How long will that take? Who knows? When we got home, M said, "We flew a ladybug kite. There has to be wind to make a kite go. I wasn't scared but then I was scared and wanted to go to the car." Pretty accurate recounting of the day. Perhaps we'll try again this weekend.
Light breezes are okay, but if a gust comes sweeping by, heaven help her. It's so terribly sad to watch your child be tormented by something you have no power to stop.
The weather continues to be a tease here, but when it's nice, it's really really nice, and the other three of us are not keen on staying indoors. So, we're continuing our balance between compassion and reality, thinking that she'll outgrow this fear in time, and until then, small exposures will help desensitize her a bit.
So, last weekend we made a BIG DEAL of going to get a kite. The girls, especially M, have been asking for a kite since October. M promised she'd be okay in the wind to fly the kite. We explained that you can't fly a kite without wind, and she thought the whole idea sounded great.
The girls had to agree on which kite to buy, and they spent much time in advance of our trip discussing what they wanted. Purple on one side, pink on the other. With a kitty cat. All purple. An airplane kite. Yet, when we got to the kite store -- after carrying a terrified M down the Pearl Street Mall because it was windy -- they agreed on a kite with a ladybug on it. I'm simplifying of course, but off we went with our kite in hand to hit a local park.
Oh, the fun. Oh, the excitement. "Put it in the sky! Put it in the sky!" We got it up on the first try, and managed to keep it in the air most of the time, a feat for mom and dad who are rusty at best with kite flying skills. The girls took turns holding the string and running to be under the ladybug. The first ten minutes or so were delightful: M didn't mention the wind, we all laughed and ran around looking like a home movie or something. Slowly, M began to mention the wind, saying she didn't like it even though we need it for the kite. By the time we left she was a mess again, scared and running to the car. O, for her part, had found a deflated soccer ball and kicked it around two feet at a time, bored by the kite and oblivious to her sister.
Progress? Maybe. I think we just have to find a way to keep her functional outdoors until she grows out of this. How long will that take? Who knows? When we got home, M said, "We flew a ladybug kite. There has to be wind to make a kite go. I wasn't scared but then I was scared and wanted to go to the car." Pretty accurate recounting of the day. Perhaps we'll try again this weekend.
Comments
love, aunty mitch.