How can I get us out of foyer and into the theatre!

[GoldysMum]

so upset - i am sat in the foyer where the sleeping beauty ballet is being performed beautifully inside - yet my ballet loving DD of nearly 4 will not come in as she's so scared of the bad fairy. Every time I take her in she starts screaming and we have to go out and watch it on the screen. Any suggestions so we don't miss the second half too?

I don't think you can this time. She's too wound up. Just enjoy it on the screen if thats where she's happy.

I agree, there's no point trying to force the issue now if she's wound herself up.
Just try to salvage the day by watching on screen and not making a big issue of it, it's a shame though.

So upsetting - she almost went in for second half but panicked at last minute about the bad fairy and we are now back in the foyer :-( my almost two year old ds is loving it though and sitting beautifully with his cousins and aunty - maybe he will end up as the ballerina in the family!

My now 5.5 yr old still spends all most performances on my lap. Cinema/ theatre etc . Yours is still young so just go with the flow and enjoy from outside. You're doing the right thing by not pushing her before she's ready.

My DD is now 14 and absolutely loves the theatre, but at the age of 4 was petrified of theatre curtains.
To be honest I didn't take her out as she was always fine once the curtains were open and the show started. She also wouldn't go in the living room the day after we saw Chitty Chitty Bang Bang because Richard O'Brian who played the child catcher was on the tv at the time.
Try taking her to something that doesn't have anything scary so she knows the theatre is fun.

Thanks - she has been to cinema and theatre before though and loved it but I think this time she had it in her head that the bad fairy would be scary before we even arrived :-(

Sounds normal for age......DS is 5.5 and still spends many a show with head hiding in parents' lap . At 3 we had the foyer thing too!!! He is generally better now, but at legoland we couldn't watch any of the shows as he was too scared!!!

Thanks again for the advice - she decided of her own accord to go in for the wedding at the end so we saw the last 10 minutes and she loved it. I would really recommend My First Sleeping Beauty at The Peacock Theatre to anyone interested - it was a full house and my DD was the only one in the whole theatre who found it scary!

I took Herbie and Ivy over the easter holidays to see it, i think Herbie enjoyed it more than Ivy though (she just wanted to wave the pink fluffy wand around).