Hello,
My daughter was bitten (in her sleep) by a spider last summer. It left a huge welt, itchy, etc. Eventually it healed but now she is terrified of spiders, even the smallest ones. I can't always be there to smush them, but she won't even move around them or anything. She just freezes and screams! I need some help to calm her down when this happens. We live in the desert, so spiders abound. There's no way to get rid of them all.
I would recommend a lesson in spiders. Help her understand their position in the circle of life and the food chain. Maybe if she becomes more familiar with them, and understands them better she won't be as afraid.
Best to you!
Hi...maybe getting some Ms. Spider videos. And some toy stuffed spiders that look cute. Charolett's Web would be a good movie to watch together. This might help re-train her mind with a different perspective of spiders. Hope this helps! A.
What if you make a game out of smushing them? You could explain to her that if she sees them first then she can smush them. Have her keep track of how many she smushes and you keep track of how many you smush. At the end of the day, whoever has more gets something - maybe gets her nails painted by the other or something.
Not sure if this will work but maybe worth a try. I really don't know of any other suggestions at the moment. Good luck!
I feel yours and her pain...I just HATE them and in AZ ....well what are you to do? One thing you might be able to do, is reassurance that she has a safe place and you are there to get them for her. I spray around the doors and windows real well and reassure my daughter that they can't come in and if they do they will be dead soon. As far as the bed is concerned, I used to put her crib in glass jars, now that she has grown out of the crib, I am just getting ready to put have the posts of her new wood head board in glass loaf pans and I made sure that none of the bedskirts in the house go more than an inch below the box springs which eliminates anything getting on the bed. I even have my room that way - thus being able to reassure my daughter and myself that no bad bugs can get on the bed! Believe me...I have a bit of arachnaphobia and a couple of years ago my husband was stung by a scorpion on our bed (due to a long bedskirt, and no foam seal around a door in our room)...so needless to say I still am "wary". I am also getting ready to go to Home Depot and buy some more foam to redo the door seals in the house. This comes in rolls and works very well and is easy to apply. With all this done, I feel better and continually reassure my daughter, so now, after time (and it takes some) she and I feel more comfortable, at least in the house. I also always tell her, "they can live outside...but they are NOT welcome in our house." Yup! I hear her LOUD and CLEAR!! I DESPISE the things! Especially the ones out here in Arizona!
Man, I'm 37 and (I) am pee-in-my-pants PETRIFIED of spiders. So, I can totally relate to your child. Living in Arizona, the BIG ones which I can only refer to as the "T-word" in my house - because even the word creeps me out....you know the name for them ;)
Anyway, my kids and husband think I'm nuts, but some people are just phobic and I've had to accept that about myself. We live in the burbs so I don't really see them. But, at museums, pet shops, and gift shops (where they are paperweights) - I will run screaming hysterical. Truth be told, I don't even let my kids come home with spider-artwork (LOL) and Halloween with plastic ones is not fun for me either. I couldn't even watch Charlotte's Web - yeah, it's THAT bad.....
I say, let her be and just support her as much as you can. It may not be something she ever resolves, but she'll just learn to avoid situations when she can.
Best,
C.
Hi, S..
When I was about 2yo, I was bitten by a black widow. To this day, I am now 21, I am still petrified of any type of spider. Even though I was too young to actually remember, it still haunts me to this day. I guess I'm scared that I could get bit again.
Just let her deal with it on her own terms...
Maybe if you can eliminate the negative image of the spider and replace it with a "cute and positive" one, such as showing her the Charlotte's Web movie, which portrays the spider as a wonderful creature. I don't know if she is too old for Charlotte's Web, but it might be worth it to pop in that classic!
Good luck :)
