My daughter is 4 years old. She is fearful of going outside on windy days. She refuses to go outside and whines when getting out of the car to go into a place when it is windy. This seems strange to me. I have never seen a child that didn't want to go outside. I take her out and 5 minutes later she wants to go in. Is this common?? How can i get her to get over this fear?
Thx
Have you asked her why? Maybe it's her ears that the wind bothers.....or maybe it drys out her eyes??
When I was little, (and to an extent now) wind blowing in my ears hurt. It was cold, it was painful, it was very unpleasant. My mom gave me earmuffs at 6, (finally) and boy was that awesome. I now wrap a scarf around my head on windy days. HTH.
I don't have an answer for you but wanted to share that my daughter was/is EXACTLY the same way since she was about 3. Even in Kindergarten she was that way at recess. She's seven now and has slowly started to accept it and even lets me put the window down in the car at times. She won't purposely go outside to play if it's windy but she doesn't cry and freak out anymore if we happen to be out and about while its windy. I don't know if it's an age thing or the sound of the wind but I was completely baffled by it too at first. I think they'll slowly grow out. I've seen a big improvement from my daughter as she's gotten older.
I agree with Kat, the speech-language pathologist who posted below. My daughter has Autism and one of her traits is that she doesn't like the wind. For her, this is a sensory issue. A lot of children on the Autism spectrum have sensory disorders. We are able to convince my daughter that it will be ok for the most part but she really doesn't like it and would prefer not to be out in the wind. She actually can't handle the windows being rolled down in the car either. This really sounds like it is a sensory issue with your daughter. The advice from Kat of talking with your pediatrician is a good start. Your pediatrician can give you a referral to a specialist or possibly even the early intervention program. I would be willing to bet that this wind problem isn't the only sensory issue your daughter has and seeing a doctor for the sensory issues will help her in other areas too.
Hi K.,
I am a speech-language pathologist who has a lot of experience in early intervention with preschoolers. It sounds to me (from all of your posts about your daughter) that she is dealing with some sensory processing issues. Many times little ones who have sensory defensiveness seem to be afraid of things that are really just very bothersome to them because their little bodies don't process the input the way bodies normally do. My advice to you would be to talk to her pediatrician about these issues and ask for a referral to a developmental specialist or an occupational therapist. Best of luck to you!
Kat
my 2 yr old doesn't like being out in the wind either. I don't think its a fear, just not comfortable.
I also noticed you have several posts today about your daughter... maybe her lack of sleep is contributing to her recent fussiness (changing her mind).
Access tools are phenomenal for working with kids and fear. www.accessconsciousness.com :)
Have her ears checked...just to be safe.
I remember the wind hurting my ears SO badly as a kid, when I had an ear infection, it really hurt...my mom used to stick cotton in my ears to shield them from the wind.
The wind does a number on my ears to this day. If its a cold wind my ears just start to hurt like they are infected. Have you tried to put a hat on her that covers her ears and see if it would help her out?
