NWMR: DS afraid of bugs after yellow jacket attack (long)

thedash · October 2013

DS is 2.5. A few weeks ago he was outside with DH's grandfather and got into a yellow jacket nest. They swarmed his head and got into his hair and shirt. Grandfather acted quickly and knocked some off, picked up DS and literally ran into the house. Some followed him in and I actually had to pull them from his hair and rip off all of his clothes. He had multiple stings on his side, his ear, and scalp. Grandfather and I were also both stung and the stings were very painful. It was very scary - DS was screaming in terror and I was yelling over him to tell DH what happened. Meanwhile DH was running around using his shoe to kill the wasps on the floor and walls.

Since this happened DS has been increasingly afraid of all bugs. He often plays by pretending his hand is a bee and will pretend to sting himself or one of us with the hand. He seems fine while playing and we have encouraged him to do it while talking about what happened and reassuring him that it's over and he's safe now. The problem is when he encounters a real bug. He is extremely afraid of flies and now even ants and worms outside. It's heartbreaking to see him so scared.

I want to help him get over this. Any suggestions? We could take him to the Natural History museum where you can see a real beehive and touch or hold other bugs like cockroaches but I'm afraid it will be traumatizing for him. Any book ideas?

Leap08 · October 2013

How scary for all of you. I'm glad he's okay. I really think this is going to just take some time. My daughter was stung by a yellow jacket this summer when we were camping. It was just one sting, but she kind of had the same reaction to bugs for awhile. She would scream and cry every time a fly came near her. We went to a butterfly exhibit at the zoo and she completely freaked out. I just tried to stay calm and would tell her things like it's just a fly, flies don't hurt you. I'd even try to let the fly land on me or her to prove the point. Anyway, her fear eventually just faded away. I haven't heard her scream because of a fly in over a month now.

NicoleWI · October 2013

OMG, how terrifying! I kind of agree that it's just going to take some time, but PP have good suggestions. I think maybe also explaining (but I'm sure you have!) that what happened usually does not happen, and that many bugs do not sting or bite at all. They don't have the right parts to sting. A book to go along with this would be great.

emberlee3 · October 2013

How scary. I think the museum would be too much right now. The memory needs to fade a little, you know? Encouraging him to play is a good idea. Maybe try finger puppets to act out some different experiences with friendly insects? We like the Icky Bug Counting Book. There are other Icky Bug books. The illustrations are very beautiful and not scary. We also love Eric Carle books as PP suggested.

LoCarb · October 2013

I agree with others time will help him heal. DD1 stepped on a red ant colony when she was 2 yo her feet and legs were covered hundreds of bite marks. She was terrified of all bugs for 6 months and slowly became more comfortable around them. I believe it helped with our talks and school lessons in class on harmless bugs (ie: caterpillars to butterflies, rolly pollies). I'm a big fan of books teaching lessons and explaining things too.

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NWMR: DS afraid of bugs after yellow jacket attack (long)

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