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Child Behavior (Expert Forum)
5 year old afraid of flys, gnats, bees, etc.
Answered by
Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D. - Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy, Family Therapy, Crisis Intervention
Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates
This forum is for questions and support regarding child behavior issues such: Child Discipline (behavior management), Normal Child Development, Parent-Child Communications, Social Development
5 year old afraid of flys, gnats, bees, etc.
by mawmaw5, Apr 30, 2002 12:00AM
My soon to be 5 (next month) year old granddaughter is scared to death of flys, gnats, bees, wasps,. She screams, crys and shakes when she sees them. She refuses to go outside to play, hates to go through the drive in window at fast food places, and cries even when a bug appears on the screen door. Her parents are divorced and she lives with her dad, my son, from Sep thru May, and goes to mom in the summer. She was stung by a bee at her mom's house last summer, but seemed to recover. This started this spring, when she didn't want to go outside. I know she will forced to go outside this summer, and she will start school in the fall. We have tried rewards, stickers, and giving her a fly swatter to carry around, but nothing helps completely. We have even tried forcing her to go outside with us, but she climbs on us like a monkey and hangs on for dear life, scared to even open her eyes. We are at our wits end!! What method can we use or do we need to get professional help?
Doctor's Answer
by Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D., Apr 30, 2002 12:00AM
, Apr 30, 2002 12:00AM
You've done reasonable things, and eventually this situation will calm down even if you do nothing else. By all means continue to have her go outside some of the time; don't let the reaction keep her house-bound.
Now, re: professional help, it's definitely in the optional category. Sometimes it does help in a situation like this; sometimes it does not. There's no reason to think that professional help is mandatory, but a prudent approach might be "Nothing ventured, nothing gained."
Also, get a hold of a couple of books about insects for young children. Achieving some cognitive mastery often benefits kids in this situation (which, by the way, is pretty common).
Now, re: professional help, it's definitely in the optional category. Sometimes it does help in a situation like this; sometimes it does not. There's no reason to think that professional help is mandatory, but a prudent approach might be "Nothing ventured, nothing gained."
Also, get a hold of a couple of books about insects for young children. Achieving some cognitive mastery often benefits kids in this situation (which, by the way, is pretty common).
Member Comments (3)
by lilbabyangelsmom, May 20, 2002 12:00AM
I have a two year old who has the same problem, she also will occasionally refuse to go outside, or want to go in as soon as she sees a bug (or bygoo as she calls them:))I have found that down playing her reaction has been helpfull, usually I just try to ignore her, I know this sounds harsh, but I find if I don't feed into her fear it seems to diminish. My husband and I also have taught her how to step on a "bygoo" to kill it, we have found that this impowers her to some extent. When all else fails, I give the "bygoo" a name and a voice and I say "Hello, Natty, I am a little bygoo going home to my family, I wont hurt you...etc." I know that probably wont work with a five year old, but you never know. Good luck.
by mawmaw5, May 25, 2002 12:00AM
Thanks for all your advice about my granddaughter. She is still a bit fearful about bugs, but does not get hysterical anymore. We gave her a fly swatter to carry around, that helped. Also, she says to herself, "You can do it, you are bigger than they are, go ahead, you can do it" The self-talk has given her more confidence and impowered her. Thank you again, I am certainly relieved it seemed to be only temporary!!
