Numberjacks - child terrified, help!

[bestthingsinlife]

Hi

My little boy (just turned 4) started school this September.

It's transpired over the last 2-3 weeks that they watch number jacks at school, and he's become terrified of being alone at bed time.

He's always been a bad sleeper, and tends to climb into bed with me and DH when we go up to bed (he'll normally go to sleep on his own, in his own bed first).

When I say scared, tonight he was shaking, and had tears by his eyes when he finally drifted off (next to me in bed, comforting him).

I feel so desperately sad for him.. and don't know what to do.

So Mumsnet any words of wisdom? How do we help him be less scared/cope? Do we talk to the school? Something we can do at home? I'm at a loss! There seems to be one character he's most scared of which is the problem blob, and actually I think it may be quite scary for such a little soul!

Help!

No way is the Problem Blob scarier than the Number Taker! Google him if you dare!

Number taker, not catcher. Doh.

Getting it muddled with the kiddie catcher 🙄

Agree number Jack's scary although watched it with my kids they were OK.

Noseybonk wow been a while couldn't quite remember, googled. Oh yes him. Terrifying.

My DD is nearly 13 but she was petrified of NumberJacks, her aunt bought her socks with them on and she refused to wear them. She didn't like the Number Taker guy.
I think it was bad DH and I used to refer to it as Number Wanks instead as DS used to love it but she would hide.
Proper sinister. Can't believe it's still on now.

Fucking hell, that Numbertaker thing is going to come into my bedroom in the dead of night and kill me.

@BiBiBirdie it isn't on any more but all of the episodes are on YouTube!

DD1 was terrified of Numberjacks - particularly the Numbertaker and the Problem Blob. I even emailed the BBC about it - the only time I have ever contacted the BBC. They assured me that other children loved it

What helped my DD was convincing her that the Numbertaker was not real - it helped when we found out that he was also Nev!!

Number Jacks is horrific.

I used to work with someone who was the spitting image of Spooky Spoon

From google:-

The problem blob is a meanie which causes trouble by spitting out green blobs of slime which causes any types of trouble. His eye lives inside his mouth and it will come out of his mouth as a long tongue. ... He has no teeth and no nose but just a mouth.

Fuck. Me. Sounds like something from Hellraiser

Now 12 year old DS wasn’t in the slightest bit bothered by Numberjacks. I, on the other hand, was fucking terrified.

Mine loved the number jacks. The older two 19 and 15 still call each other by the 'baddie' names. Problem blob being the favourite.
Spooky spoon was my favourite.

Mine was petrified of Spooky Spoon and the Problem Blob from the ages of about 2-6. Couldn’t sleep, talked about them all the time the way kids do when they’re scared but obsessive about something. He was genuinely frightened. We laugh about it now he’s 10, but it’s only been in the last couple of years that he’s genuinely not been a little bit scared any more.

PS nationmckinley I want to see the person who looks like Spooky Spoon

Ds loved numberjacks but was fucking terrified of the Zingzillas!

Sorry I'm no help to you but in your situation I'd mention it to his teacher.
Good luck!

Zingzillas were creepy, like unevolved Tweenies!

We had this when ds's nursery started showing it to the 3 year-olds. He was terrified of the shape japer and had nightmares about it for ages. We asked them to stop showing it, and the only way we got him to calm down to go to sleep was to hang a massive number 4 on his wall because he said 4 was the bravest number who always beat the shape japer! It's a really scary programme.

That said, he loves it now, at 5!

I would ring the school too. The number taker is bloody terrifying!

Apologies for unashamedly bumping this thread but I need the therapy as a a parent of numberjack-traumatised DC! Found the thread when searching to understand WTF this programme is that’s been terrifying them.

My god, it is so weird!

Y1 DS watched it in reception - I didn’t understand what he was watching at the time, I only knew he was watching something that scared him and they taught him to put his hands over his ears and close his eyes at the scary bits. He’s got used to it and enjoys watching it now, but his younger brother was watching it on the iPad the other day and suddenly screamed and threw the iPad across the room in terror - he was crying and shaking for ages, I’ve never seen him such a state!

Why do they persist in showing it when the far superior numberblocks is available?!

Weird; it's never come across to my kids or myself as terrifying. They love maths though... What I do find scary is the singing in there!

Just realised I am confusing it with Number Blocks 🙈.

People - I give you Mr Noseybonk

Wow I’d managed to suppress the memories of noseybonk - properly disturbing!

And yes numberblocks is an absolute delight (including the singing)

DD loved Numberjacks was obsessed so I took her to see the stage show.

The numbertaker scared her so much in Year 1 they had make sure no episode had it. Still loved Zero the Hero

Then in her brothers class it was problem blob

The number taker

Had to lol at ‘he’s the number fucker-upper’ though...