Can't get my 7 year old DS out in the garden on sunny days because he is afraid of bees

[Pinkchampagne]

He got stung when he was around 4 years old & since then, he has been pretty phobic about bees & wasps, but this year I cannot get him to go outside & play in the garden on sunny days because he is petrified there may be a bee outside.

I don't want him staying in all day when the weather is so nice, but I'm not quite sure how to get around this one.

Anyone??

hmmm... it's tricky. Mine also run in the house screaming when a bee or wasp is around. dd is 4 and ds is 2. I don't many flowers in my garden which helps to limit their numbers. Also I act really casual around bees, "oh a bee (in bored voice) tell it to buzz off" which seems to help - they enjoy shouting buzz off - but they are alot younger than your ds so the same tactics may not work...!?

Oh and we read bee stories too!

Could you get him a tent with a door, so he can hide in there if he's worried?

Can you be doing really fun things in the garden, so that he wants to come outside? Does he have siblings that you can play outside with so that he'll want to join in? Can you offer him a special reward for being brave?

Don't have many other ideas but I do sympathise as I went through a phase like this myself as a child (still am pretty phobic about wasps), and always hated summer picnics in case wasps came. Will watch this with interest as I don't want my ds to learn my phobia from me.

How about an insect repellent? I know he doesn't need it, but you could truthfully tell him that they don't like the smell so they won't bother him. Might be enough to give him some more confidence?

I was about to say exact same thig as saintmaybe. Bless his little heart. I'm not a lover of them myself so can sympathise. Quite often find myself running indoors with arms flapping around in the summer trying to get away.

Thanks for the ideas! He does have a younger brother, who doesn't yet share his fear of bees & wasps, but he doesn't like going into the garden without his big brother to play with!
I tell him that bees don't tend to sting unless they are touched etc, and have shown him how I can sit outside with a bee buzzing above me for some time without being stung, but none of that seems to have much effect.

It seems such a shame that this fear is stopping him from playing in the garden & enjoying any rare glimpses of sunshine!

the insect repellent idea is a good one - I might give that a go & see if it gives him a little more confidence to go outside.

my dd was also scared of bees (thanks to my mum and brother!) and I explained to her that bees make the honey which she gets on toast/in porridge and so we can't be scared of them. We also said that when they came close to her they were just trying to be friendly but if you scream they can get scared so if they come near you you have to be quiet and they will go away back to making honey! It has worked although she has asked how the little bees can carry the jars of honey to Tesco

LOL, bless her!

My then 5yo ds1 spent an entire summer indoors 'in case there's a bee in the garden.' He'd never been stung by one although once had a fright when one alighted on his t-shirt. Istr it was at the same time he pretended he was a duck for many months. Twas a cracker of a year...

He's grown up now but is still scared of bees and runs away from them, leaving his poor wife to deal with them!

I think the insect repellant is a good idea or maybe just go with the flow and try to give your ds some fresh air on duller days.

Awwwwww poor boy, i feel the same about them. I have never been stung so it is fear of the unknown.

bees, spiders and dogs..i am such a wimp. I would try the insect repellent wipe things and tell him they wont come near as the bees don't like them. Wish i could believe that.

LOl @ pretending to be a duck!!

Think I may give the insect repellent a try & hope for the best!

Totally sympathise Pinkchampagne.

dd got stung last year and is gradually over coming her fear. As others have said, we've read books about bees, talked about much we like honey etc. SLowly but surely it's working. Good luck!

Well I managed to get him outside yesterday, but he stayed shut inside his pop up tent!
Today it is overcast, so we managed a trip to the park with no problems, but it does seem a shame that this fear of bees & wasps is stopping him from enjoying the sunshine.

I am going to try the insect repellent idea & hope for the best, I think!
Thank you all for the tips

We sometimes catch one in a big pot so that ds can watch it crawl around and stuff, they are quite cute and furry really

also have explained the difference between bees (which won't usually sting) and wasps (which are nasty buggers)

we sometimes find a dead bee and I let him pick it up and look at it for a while

it is hard, ds was like this last year (he was also stung) but so far this year not too scared