Erika might think she's part dog... or that Kade is part human.

[aliki]

Erika is a great toddler all around, but she has a quirk. She's absolutely, illogically, immensely terrified (I mean to the point that if she hears either, she FREAKS out, runs helter-skelter in no particular direction with her head shaking in a no-no-no-no! manner, and starts bawling) of two things: thunderstorms and vacuum cleaners.

Brian says he understands her logic. Kade is her protector, her brother, her rock. When they go for walks, she's not afraid of strangers, of large snarling dogs, of stumbling upon a herd of deer. She's not afraid of imaginary dragons, puddles, boogie monsters in the closet, or the dark. Because Kade is there and he will "chase the dragons" and "bite the other dog." So if Kade whimpers, runs and hides, and cowers at the sound of thunderstorms and vacuum cleaners....

Any ideas on how to correct this? We tried sitting her down and explaining what thunderstorms and vacuum cleaners were, and we tried telling her "it's okay" but she just shrieks, violently shakes her head, and starts climbing my leg like a bear chased up a tree.

~~~~~

In other news, we walked back to our front door, and Kade as usual eagerly ran right up to it. Erika pushed him aside and told him to "back up so I open for you."

She said: "I open 'coz Kade no can open door."
I nodded, and said: "Right, because he's too short."

She spun around slowly, with an unreadable expression on her face-- a half-raised eyebrow and a purse in her lips-- and after a short pause, she patiently said, as if speaking to a very silly child: "No, because Kade has no hands; only has paws."

Comments

[subienkow.livejournal.com]

If she gets down on all fours and starts barking at the vacuum, then you can start worrying! Seriously, what I used to do, was explain how things worked. Show her the on/off switch, let her press it, show her she can control the machine, but it still has to make the noise, because that's just how it works.

When my daughter was younger, we made a game out of the thunderstorms. When we saw the flash, we'd take turns going "Okay...now!" and pointing like magic, trying to 'cue' the thunder. Don't know if it will help, but anything to put her at ease.

Of course Kade couldn't open the door, no hands!! Geez, I figured even a marine biologist would know that!

[aliki.livejournal.com]

Erika's really mechanically-inclined, so she figured out early on how switches worked (pushed chairs over to the wall and climbed on them), and she knows how to work the remote control, and work the hair dryer and vacuum machine and countless other gadgets, but she just hates only the vacuum..