Preparing to Face a Fear
Ever since Fiona got scared during her last flying experience we've been wondering how we would handle her next flight. With the big day coming up on Tuesday, we decided last night that we needed to begin preparing Fiona for her trip.
We started earlier in the afternoon, telling her that she would go to day care on Monday, and then the next day she would go to visit Nonny and Pop in San Diego. Fiona chattered about her schedule the rest of the day, trying to keep straight the order in which things were going to happen ("go see Nonny Pop and then go see Rita"), and talking about all the things she was going to do in San Diego ("see fish and see the elephants and see a doggy and a bunny...")
Over dinner, we explained that Nonny and Pop lived very far away. Fiona declared she was "going to ride in the car." We replied that Nonny and Pop live so far away that we can't get there by car, so we're going to have to take an airplane.
Fiona's eyes got very wide and she got very quiet.
"I scared of airplane," she said, after a moment.
We nodded that yes, she had been scared on the last flight, but that Mommy and Daddy were going to be right there with her, and that she can take a stuffed animal with her if she wants (this came out of a digression about how her "doggie" might be scared of flying, and how she can help the doggy deal with his fear), and that even if she does get a little scared that's okay, but that she should know that everything is going to be all right.
Ever since the November flight, Fiona has been fascinated by stories about characters who get scared and then stand up to their fears. Whether it's Pooh Bear or Sponge Bob on her DVDs, or Piglet, Babar's children, a baby koala, or a kitten caught up a tree in one of her books, when Fiona comes across a "scary" story she wants to watch/read it again and again. She's been processing how to deal with fear, and she showed us how much she's been learning when she announced what she was going to have to do:
"I have to be brave."
We started earlier in the afternoon, telling her that she would go to day care on Monday, and then the next day she would go to visit Nonny and Pop in San Diego. Fiona chattered about her schedule the rest of the day, trying to keep straight the order in which things were going to happen ("go see Nonny Pop and then go see Rita"), and talking about all the things she was going to do in San Diego ("see fish and see the elephants and see a doggy and a bunny...")
Over dinner, we explained that Nonny and Pop lived very far away. Fiona declared she was "going to ride in the car." We replied that Nonny and Pop live so far away that we can't get there by car, so we're going to have to take an airplane.
Fiona's eyes got very wide and she got very quiet.
"I scared of airplane," she said, after a moment.
We nodded that yes, she had been scared on the last flight, but that Mommy and Daddy were going to be right there with her, and that she can take a stuffed animal with her if she wants (this came out of a digression about how her "doggie" might be scared of flying, and how she can help the doggy deal with his fear), and that even if she does get a little scared that's okay, but that she should know that everything is going to be all right.
Ever since the November flight, Fiona has been fascinated by stories about characters who get scared and then stand up to their fears. Whether it's Pooh Bear or Sponge Bob on her DVDs, or Piglet, Babar's children, a baby koala, or a kitten caught up a tree in one of her books, when Fiona comes across a "scary" story she wants to watch/read it again and again. She's been processing how to deal with fear, and she showed us how much she's been learning when she announced what she was going to have to do:
"I have to be brave."
posted by BWC at
1:26 PM
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