fears and phobias

[2107]

Talking of toliets and Mel C, my daughters have developed an enormous phobia about going to the toliet after watching a video of the Spice Girls film. In the film they are being spied on by a reporter and in one scene he pops up through the toliet. My eldest daughter is 7 and says that she KNOWS its not possible but they are both hysterical about going to the loo in case he pops up again. Any good tips???

I STILL HAVE A TOILET PHOBIA AND I AM 28 , THERE MANY THINGS THAT I THOUGHT WOULD 'GET' ME - FROM GHOSTS TO PIPES OR NATURALLY SPIDERS IN OUTDOOR LOOS PARTICULARLY! I'M AFRAID THE ONLY SOLUTION I CAN COME UP WITH IS THE ONE I HAVE USED FOR THE LAST 20 YEARS AND THAT IS TO LEAVE THE TOILET DOOR OPEN - SO YOU CAN MAKE QUICK ESCAPE IF THE CREEPY CRAWLIES(PAPARAZZI!) COME TO 'GET' YOU!!-SORRY NOT VERY PRACTICAL I KNOW AND CAN SOMETIMES BE A TOUCH EMBARRASSING IN A PUBLIC LOO! OF COURSE THE ONLY OTHER THING TO DO IS TO HAVE YOUR MOTHER WITH YOU IN THE LOO WHILE YOU 'GO'(SO SHE CAN PROTECT YOU!!

Thanks! I must say that wasn't too encouraging :-) Do you have other phobias as well or is this one the dominating one. My eldest daughter is a real worrier and has been obsessed with illness and the like since she was able to talk. On the other hand she is extremely outgoing and has many friends - its a mystery to me...

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Great idea Bloss, very Harry Potter-ish!

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sorry 2107,thankfully there are resourceful parents out there, with practical advice. i have just found a curious site -emode.com that does various tests (psychometric). it turns out that my emotional age is below average and i am apparently more like an adolescent! that figures! -yes , i have a few more phobias 13 year old girls in parks are paricularly scary(terribly intimidating!) i could go on - but i fear i may sound slightly barmy! good luck with the hydrochloric acid stuff- the ball one sounds pretty cool also.

Bloss
I am curious about the table tennis balls down the loo - don't they get dirty? Don't they [ping] pong a lot? I'd love to teach my boys to aim straight.

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Our 3 year old daughter has the screaming abdabs EVERY EVENING when it's time to go up to the bath, although she's fine once in the bath. I therefore often just haul her bodily upstairs and into the bath. I'm 5 months pregnant, however' so need to find a better solution! Any ideas?

We've resorted to the old sticker on a chart routine for a number of things that occur several times a day... such as no screaming when it's bathtime, doing all wees and poos in the potty or loo (Hmmm... the garden was being used with increasing regularity!) and not whinging. The reward? A "Diesel" from Thomas the Tank family. We are day 3, and all going swimmingly! One mention of the sticker chart, and behaviour improves... Perhaps a new outfit for Barbie for the girls?!

Just wondering, how old are your children when you start with star charts and associated rewards.

Chelle, I started sticker charts when we were potty training, a star for a wee and an animal sticker for a poo!

The other incentive star charts came later, when he was at nursery and they had similar things. Good behaviour, helpfulness, kindness etc.

When he started school we had specific lines; he designed it all, again because it was the 'in-thing' at school in the first term. Things like, trying new foods, drinking milk, etc etc. When he got to 10 stars he got a reward, something small like new pens or a book.

Our family and friends marvel at the fact our 3yr is so well behaved whenever we go out to eat. Indeed, there have been many occasions when on walking into a restaurant we have been looked at as if to say "oh god a kid"! Our secret, micro
cars. The package advises not for use on under
4's but if your child doesn't tend to put things in their mouths, these are wonderful toys (barely
an inch big) - hence they fit into the handbag, pockets very easily and they have great fun while waiting for their meal to arrive and afterwards while you are having coffee. Micra cars are available in most toy shops and are around £4 for 10.

Thanks for the tips. I think both the balls and the powder sound good. I think that the principle is worth following up. I may ask the children themselves what they think could kill-off this guy from the Spice Girl film in the toliet as they have lovely, grusome imaginations that put Harry P. to shame.
Dorisday - thanks for the web tip. I'll check it out.