2.5Y old SCARED OF EVERYTHING AND I MEAN EVERYTHING

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So she's always been abit weary and had separation anxiety as a baby but became a confident happy toddler. It's been a few months now though (after her second birthday ish) that she's started to get scared of everything and it's only gotten worse. At a wedding she screamed at every single human who said hi to me, she screams at waitresses serving our food. Scared of all appliance and cutting her toenails. Scared of other kids. At a birthday party was scared of any kids with face paint on or holding balloon animals. Scared of the funfair mainly because she wss scared of the people working the rides etc. Scared of my grandma, scared of anyone wearing a face mask (covid type or skincare lol).
Not to mention she doesn't just hide or stay close to me, she has a full blown screaming breakdown and I've heard a few comments of people who think she's having a tantrum and calling her naughty. She's happy at home and her grandparents and a few other places but will scream if I leave the room, or my phone rings loudly. It's just draining and genuinely stopping us getting out and about and my 8month old is also affected by it.

Any advice would be welcome as we have a holiday booked in 2 months but I'm considering cancelling as it really is draining for her and us tbh

I do agree that holidays can be difficult of your DD is anxious. I think it’s the change of place and routine maybe? Where are you planning on going?

Would she wear ear defenders and sunglasses to cut down on stimuli?

@BunnyRuddington she most definitely doesn't have any sensory or stimulation issues. loves bright lights, music dancing eyc. Is actually a very loud and confident child. She's just afraid of EVERYTHING. We will he going to dubai which we have done twice already, when she was a small baby and 16M old. She was fine but this was well before this fear :(

I can see that she is confident in some situations but seems a bit distressed in others?

I’m not saying that she had sensory issues but sometimes cutting down on outside stimulation can help small DC regulate and deal with the world more easily.

How does she do on the 2.5 year Social & Emotional Progress Checker?

@BunnyRuddington she gets irritated wearing ear defenders and is even scared in quiet calm situations. For example visiting my grandma's super quiet house.

She scores well for emotional development. Extremely well infact. Her 2 year review I was told her vocabulary and understanding is extremely high for her age and she can express exactly what she's scared of and uses full sentences. Which is why it's even more confusing. An example of a sentence she would say is

Mummy, Im really scared of this lady, her teeth are scaring me they're brown (scared of decayed teeth).

Another example
At the funfair she wanted to go on a ride but had a full on screaming breakdown as we got to the end of the queue where I had to lay

'Nooo mummy no tell that man to move so I can go on ride, I'm really scared of hims. His big beard making me so so scared'

Agree that she is quite skilled with her language. How does she score on this simple progress checker?

@BunnyRuddington just filled it in and scored yes for everything. She does have great understanding for her age and I can send her around the house to get me things and she would know. She can even understand 2 instructions at a time so something like "can you get your shoes and put them on and then can you pick which coat you'd like to wear'. She will do both and also have a glance out if the window and choose based on weather. For example "mummy it's raining today, I wear boots okay? I splash in muddy puddles like peppa". This makes her fears extra confusing to us because no amount of explaining helps her to feel less scared.

OP did your little one every grow out of this? My DD seems exactly the same at 2.5yo. High vocab and language skills but scared of so much!

How do you react when she tells you she is scared of something?

Normally I either say I understand you are scared and it's ok mummy and daddy will keep you safe. Things like being scared of the hairdryer, blender, fireworks etc I hope she grows out of. If she's scared of dolls faces, noisy toys etc then I just remove them if possible.

@WhiskyKay hi! So shes now 2.9 years and I can say she is slowly getting better!! I did some crazy things to try and help some fears hut some got better alone. She was scared of everyone except close family so I made up a chant that we would sing before going to visit relatives or going out somewhere I knew she would have to interact...

"We are brave
People are kind"

And we would sing it over and over and eventually she stopped screaming at random people 🤣 she still does get scared sometimes but I will comforf her or sing it. Sometimes I hear her whispering it herself when someone is approaching us. For the hair dryer I danced a few times whilst using and then in a silly way declared my love to it. I used it on her teddies and even gave baby brother a blast with it and she asked for a turn after this and realised its just warm air. Still working on some of the fears but mainly they've gone!! It will get better. Oh and i sound like a really loopy mum with ?my suggestions haha sorry!