I scared the crap out of my kid, advice??

So my teenage son used to love the Little Critter books by Mercer Mayer. So about a week ago my 3 year old daughter and I were bored so i thought we would watch a few of the books I found on youtube. OMG this one was in the set of 20, but NOT a little critter book. I should of thought about it before we watched it.

I feel soooo bad. She is really scared now She keeps saying things like...'there's no alligators under there', and 'that was just a book, a pretend story' ... She keeps running after me if i leave the room. She won't go to the bathroom by herself.

When we watched the story she liked it. She even asked to watch it a second time. It took a day or 2 for the fear to kick in. When I noticed she was running after me a lot, I asked...'what's wrong what are you scared of?' She tried to say nothing so I sat her down, told her I know somethings bothering her and she had to tell me. She whispered..'that alligator book scared me'.

So, it seems to be getting worse instead of better. Any ideas about what to do to help me help my super sweet 'tiny love'???
Here's the vid we watched...

Blame David Icke.

Seriously though,

Maybe you could buy her a cute alligator stuffed toy to break the fear, a soft cuddly one, not a realistic one.

reply to post by Wifibrains


I was just thinking that myself. Maybe even put it under her bed and "find" it with a flashlight to show her even if there's an alligator under her bed its a nice one.

reply to post by Wifibrains


Yea that's a good idea. But I'm Broke as a joke. Guess If she is still scared on Sunday when I can get shopping I will probably try to find one!! Thanks

reply to post by MonkeyFishFrog


MONKEYFISHFROG, goood idea...are you a MOM??? lol!! I love that, thanks!

reply to post by MidnightSunshine


Does she like Barney? Because you could tell her that Barney is like a big alligator and he's not mean at all.

reply to post by Casandra


HMMM she DOES like Barney, she doesn't see it too often, but she likes him. Thank you Casandra, if she is still acting funny today, I'll be trying this.

I have a old anecdote for you .. dont ask me why i was always asking the same question .. but
from my youngest age just after i was able to speak
each nights before sleeping i was asking my mom before she close the light and close the door

"Mom there is no monsters and no thiefs right ?"

then she was telling me "Yes you can go to sleep now" with little kiss on the cheek lol
once she said that .. i was okay to sleep fearlessly

maybe make her ask that same question and do the same with her
it really work

Watch two seasons Walking Dead with her.

She'll forget about the Alligator.

reply to post by H1ght3chHippie


reply to post by Ben81



TWD!!!...Never thought of that, hope that alligator doesn't get her before Sunday night!!!!

THANK YOU for sharing that with me my Hippy friend, very good advice!!! You're right sometimes just hearing it from Mum is all it takes.

Say to her, "At least it isn't a Reptilian at your window." Then show her some terrifying footage of Reptilians so she can understand the differences..........no that's a terrible idea. She'd probably become a conspiracy nut.

reply to post by MidnightSunshine


You are welcome Ma'am.

People afraid of height do make balloon trips as well.

reply to post by MidnightSunshine


Haha, no, I'm not a Mom, just had a lot of younger cousins growing up.

Originally posted by H1ght3chHippie
Watch two seasons Walking Dead with her.

She'll forget about the Alligator.

My little brother would grab a bat and say "Bring it"

Originally posted by H1ght3chHippie
Watch two seasons Walking Dead with her.

She'll forget about the Alligator.

Love that show...Midnightsunshine you could always show her my avatar and say "this thing lives in the closet and eats alligators"..I'm an ass I know

Originally posted by MidnightSunshine
reply to post by H1ght3chHippie

 

reply to post by Ben81

 

TWD!!!...Never thought of that, hope that alligator doesn't get her before Sunday night!!!!

THANK YOU for sharing that with me my Hippy friend, very good advice!!! You're right sometimes just hearing it from Mum is all it takes.

Why are you teaching your child that a book is youtube.

it's not real, it's only pretend.. it's not real, it's only pretend.. it's not real, it's only pretend...

Meh, I'm no help here. My dad used to tell me "Is the monster under your bed scarier than me? THEN GET BACK IN BED TWERP!"

Needless to say my therapist still twitches when I discuss my childhood.

Originally posted by Hefficide

Meh, I'm no help here. My dad used to tell me "Is the monster under your bed scarier than me? THEN GET BACK IN BED TWERP!"

Needless to say my therapist still twitches when I discuss my childhood.

got cramps because of you now .. AGAIN !
for making me laught that much all the time ahaha

My youngest would probably be hunting alligators.. for a new pet.

Agree with the suggestion about getting a stuffed gator, but you can also just tell her the truth.. that its a story ( as she knows already) and that alligators are wild animals and prefer the outdoors, not under beds. Not the more gnarly ones with feeding clips, but film on gators in their habitat and etc would do good IMO.

Just some unsolicited advise. never BS your kid. Show them real life things with real life information if they are scared of something. To fear a gator isnt a stupid thing.. I grew up with them and they sometimes came up in the back yard. Its a healthy fear... but not a fear when you show her they dont come inside or live under beds.