Anyone else's almost 4 y/o afraid of EVERYTHING suddenly?

summerbrideDC

Ethan is becoming afraid of things of epic proportions lately.  Every thing from a bug outside (he used to love bugs) to spilling something at the dinner table (we do not make a big deal out of spills and never punish for them) sends him into an "Oh no! Oh no!" frenzy and we need to either come inside or clean up the spill immediately or he completely melts down. 

I do not understand it.  He is generally so mellow and we are not rigid or hyper-protective, but lately he seems to be demonstrating this anxiety--it's kind of worrying me.

Is it a phase or is my kid having legitimate anxiety issues?  

Temp374386125003286

Well, Kyle didn't want to be outside yesterday because of a bug he saw.  He used to love bugs.  It kinda made me sad, he just wanted to explore it before and yesterday he wanted to be inside. 

gracendantho26

Hmm I don't remember them doing that. I was going to page you though to see if you've taken Ethan to the Happy Hollow since it's been remodeled? I took the kids last week and it is such a great place for little ones.

summerbrideDC

Grace, we're going to go soon, but haven't had a chance yet. I should do it soon, though b/c with these new anxiety/fears of his he's going to be full-on agoraphobic soon.  LOL

4Speedy

My DD isn't really afraid of anything but she is going through something that I think could be similar.  My DD is extrememly dramatic.  If I send her to her room for a timeout, she becomes hysterical and asks, "You mean forever?  I have to stay in there forever and you are NEVER going to feed me ever again?"

I think you are just getting a different version of being overly dramatic.  I think it's just a phase, one of those parental testing kind of phases.

Hooray2005

A has been in an overly-dramatic, oddly anxious mood for a few months now - his anxiety comes out more in wanting things a certain way when he's going to bed (certain pillow and toys, wanting the covers a particular way, needing the blinds down in a certain way, etc.) or odd requests like needing a toy put away or having his garbage emptied(?!) before he can go to bed.  It's part independence assertion, part whackadoodle behavior!

A book I LOVE and highly, highly recommend for any parent who has a child who demonstrates even the smallest bit of anxiety is Tamar Chansky's Freeing Your Child from Anxiety

https://www.amazon.com/Freeing-Your-Child-Anxiety-Practical/dp/0767914929

I love it's easy-to-apply-to-my-life approach to helping parents teach children to manage their own sense of worry.  It talks about a child's "worry brain" (the negative messages like "that bug is scary") vs. the brave or "I can do it" brain ("even though my worry brain is telling me that bug is scary, I'm a lot bigger than that bug and it can't hurt me").  It's every easy read and implement, and is good for even garden-variety typical worries children exhibit.  I use techniques from the book with A all.the.time, and have also seen it work beautifully with clients

Ah, almost-four-year-olds!

Jodi&Joe

I'm sorry I don't have any answers but Oh........MY......GOD!!!

He's so handsome.  I love his long hair!  Adorable!

summerbrideDC

M--thanks! I will pick up at that book tomorrow b/c I am finding myself responding w/ frustration and I kNOW that's not the right approach. 

 

Thanks, Jodi; a little girl at the pool in Hawaii made fun of him for having long hair and I was beside myself.  He got over it way before I did! LOL  I ask him he wants a haircut, but he doesn't.  I love it.  My parents are coming next week and are going to give me a ton of crap about it, but whatever.