Oh no, have given my 2 yr old a spider phobia

[Thomcat]

GUTTED

We have played a spider game in the past, where we pretend a mummy spider and her babies live in the crack in our skirting board.

Today in the garden she saw a real one, a HUGE one. She seemed quite pleased. Then it ran off and she was asking 'where's spider gone mummy', so I was saying oh it here it's there and then I said oh look there it is and pointed to her. Oh my GOD! She freaked.

She was tearing at her hair and going mad. It went on for ages and I couldn't calm her down. When she did eventually stop it was only for a moment and then she'd start again. I took her upstairs in the end and lay on my bed with her, chatting to her about school and put cbeebies on etc. She'd chat to me and seem fine and then suddenly something or nothing would spook her and she lost it again.

She eventually calmed down and I left her and when she rejoined us she was cool but I feel sooooooo bad.

She'll have some sort of horrific spider phobia till she's 45 now and finally gets therapy and it's my fault.

I'm such a bad mummy you're all ignoring me, I just know it!

///\\ It's Ok. She will get over it, honest, and it is not your fault at all (how could you know that she was going to move from a happy funny game to a freakout). In 5 years time she may well want a pet tarantula...

LOL! I hope so. It was quite a mad freak out, didn't now what to do for her other than stay calm. Will have to get Charlottes Web DVD out tomorrow !!!!

Is she too old for "The Very Busy Spider", if so, is she too young for "Charlotte's Web"? I would have thought either would help.

But you didn't DO anything to give her a phobia, did you? It wasn't like you were flapping and going 'omg it's a spider' and running away or something ... not like me and the farkin' SNAIL my dad was threatening me with earlier ...

Don't worry and don't make a big deal out of it and she will be fine. I gave my ds a phobia of sea weed for about a year by pretending it was a monster. But he's fine now. Ish

No, I know. Just wish it had been DP who'd said it so I could use it as a stick to beat him with!!!!

Just hope she's not terrified of them now.
Will get Charlotte's web on tomorrow and buy her a massive one from ELC too, maybe????

LOL Bluewolf!

You handled it really well and didn't show her you were afraid of spiders.
I gave my kids a phobia of spiders by freaking out when DS brought one in from the garden and stuck it under my nose! I almost fell off the chair in my hurry to get away from it!

Hopefully your DD will get over it after watching the hundreds of baby spiders on Charlottes Web

Oh gawd, i forgot about the end scene. Hmmmmmm

Thomcat - what are your phobias? I have vertigo and scared of needles (which seem reasonable to me)

I don't think i really have a phobia as such. There are things I'm not mad keen on but wouldn't say I have a phobia. I mean if this huge spider had run up my arm I would have hated it, but may have been able to turn it into a funny momenmt(through my terror!) if in front of children. They have never seen me freak out over anything put it that way.

I don't think its spiders that freaked out out, but thinking there was something on her that she didn't know about

Mmmmm, I like that way of thinking and agree 100% actually. Yes, you're right, and that's much better than having a fear of spiders. I don't blame her at all.

Oh bless her cottons. Want to hug her better all over again!