The onset of the warm weather this week should be a joy - but for me and dd it is turning into a nightmare! Every time we have ventured out this week and encountered the inevitable flies and bees she has been pretty hysterical. I have tried explaining how harmless they are etc and that they can't hurt her etc, but it just dosn't seem to be getting through. I've been filling a little pot with choc stars and leaving it in the kitchen and telling her that the flies are buzzing round her to tell them they've left her a choc in her pot and making a big fuss of finding the pot when we get home and showing her the chocs - but this isn't really working either. I've promised her a new Barbie if she can try to be brave, but she is still going off on one when she sees a fly and I'm really getting fed=up with it.
What can I do? I'm ashamed to say that I've begun to get a bit cross and after an aborted trip to feed the ducks this afternoon, have called her a 'stupid, silly girl' and was really quite unsympathetic. I really can't be bothered with her at the moment. Sounds so harsh, but i was like this when I was a kid and so I don't want her to be the same way as it made my life so hard to be scared and frightened of silly things. She is so demanding a lot of the time and I just feel like, 'here we go again, another silly side of her character to try and iron out' - I'm just so fed up! We are going abroad in a few months for the first time with her and I am dreading it as this fear is going to spoil the holiday - one sight of a cockroach and i think she'll have a coronory!
Sorry, this sounds like I'm more sorry for me than for her - it's a twofold problem - she is scared and it's getting me down as I don't seem to be able to help her and can't see light at the end of the tunnel.
Thanks for reading!