Daughter Terrified of Flies

Kids around this age develop strong fears because their minds are becoming more imaginative. At the same time, their ability to reason themselves out of their fears lags behind so they just freak out. This stage will pass, so give it time.

Here is my suggestion, it may or may not help with the fly fear, but only good things come from reading to your children, right?
The "Fly Guy" series of childrens books by Tedd Arnold. Some titles are: Hi! Fly Guy, Super Fly Guy, I Spy Fly Guy, There was an old woman who swallowed FLY GUY! And so on. The main character is a boy named Buzz, and his pet is Fly Guy who can say his name - BUZZ. Fun books that my little boys love. They are older and reading on their own. But there are just some stories that I really love to read to them, and these are just a few. I get a kick out of the illustrations, to me Fly Guy is hysterical looking!
So, perhaps seeing that harmless insect as a fun pet for Buzz will help your daughter feel better about the next fly that comes to visit.
Good luck!
PS 16 years ago my husband, kids and I drove from Las vegas, to Springfield, Missouri. Took us 30 hours. We drove on and on and on, stopping only for bathroom breaks, to stretch, eat and take a nap once in the middle of the night. My youngest at the time was only 3 months old.......what were we thinking!
K.

I have no advice, only to let you know both of my children have that same fear. My now 4yo and 5yo go crazy if there is any kind of flying insect around them or heaven forbid, in the house!! I have been told it's only a phase, however, this phase has lasted about two years so far.... Good luck in figuring it out. Neither have been stung by a bee or anything,so I have no ideal what has caused this either. J.

I don't know what to tell you, but if it makes you feel any better, two of my kids had unreasonable fears as well. My son was terrified of the owls that flew over our home and would run in the house screaming when they would come out at dusk. My daughter was afraid of the helicopters that flew over my parents house. They both outgrew these fears. And, we laugh about it to this day. :)

Hello everyone my daughter is 9 years old and i have been dealing with her phobia of flies for several years. Its draining and stressful. At times i want to cry and call the crisis center to come her her. She panics and screams and hides she runs to her room screaming for me to call the doctor ,that she wants not to be scared anymore make it go away. She puts on several layers of clothes scarfs to cover her ears. She thinks they will go in her ears eyes and nose. She thinks they will sting her or bite her. All though she realizes they never have.have. I've taken her to a therapist he recommends books as well,so thanks for that suggestion someone posted. He also said she has to slowly be desynthesized from flies. I am trying these and have yet to change anything. I talk to her have her repeat steps to get them away from her. Me and my older daughter is very frustrated. She has ADHD idk if this has anything to do with it. I feel this isn't normal? FYI,im exhausted!!!

My son... who is a bit younger than your daughter... recently went through this. He got "buzzed" by a japanese beetle at the park one day and from then on anything that flew was suspect; even butterflies. And this time of year, it seems there's always a fly in the house. Anyway, we tried to turn it into a game saying, "boo bee" (not something I'd recommend since when he says it, it sounds more like "boobie") and "shoo fly" and flap our arms to make it go away. Empowering him to do something about it seemed to help. After about three months of being afraid to venture into the back yard, he's finally getting comfortable with going outside again. Hope this helps.

I'm from the "knowledge is power" camp so I say try to desensitize her to flies by letting her check one out. Catch a fly and put it in a jar so she knows it can't "get her." Let her examine it. Let her ask you questions about it. Get some fun & interesting info about them online.

I did this with my 3 year old when she developed a fear of bees. It took about 1 hour and her fears were completely gone and never came back.

Good luck!

My daughter went through the same thing (though she is a little younger, just turned three) I love the idea of catching one and letting her examine it. We made it a game, talked about how he was just flying around to say hi to us. Now she happily greets all flies ("Hewwo fwy!!") and even thinks small flies are "cute." :) I think the fear developed when a neighbor scared her by freaking out about a bee. (and honestly, can you blame them, what is the difference between a bee and a fly in their mind?) If you are calm around ALL insects than eventually she will take your lead. I've committed to a "bugs won't bug you if you don't bug them" mantra.

My son too!! He runs from them saying that they are going to bite him. I am going to try Sara's trick. When we took our son to Disneyland, this is how we kept him from being afraid of the pirates on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, "boo pirate!" So I have a feeling this will work with the flies.

Hello, K.,

Could you just eat those flies for her?

What a fun shift for her to see mommy all of a sudden have a goofy desire to hunt them down for her and "eat" them!

I think it will really help her to make a rapid attention shift and empower her to move through her fear. Plus give you a fun memory together to share in the near future!

My best,

T.

My 2 yr. old son was too for a few weeks! I think because he associated them with bees, who could sting him, he became afraid of flies. I just kept reassuring him that flies can not hurt him and I think he's over it now. I like the idea of saying "shoo fly" too.

My niece had a fear of all flying creatures -- bugs and birds throughout her childhood. She is a grown woman now, with no trace of phobia. It might just be a (long) phase.

Have you asked her what it is about flies that scares her? Maybe having a really specific conversation about it will help her express what the real problem is.

Good luck!