>Fear of Fireworks
>”What we doing?” Baby asked last night as we walked down the front steps together.
“Dada’s going to set off fireworks!” I said brightly. Baby didn’t know it, but Hubs and I had engineered a test run, to see if Baby could take tonight’s fireworks extravaganza at our church.
We walked down to the foot of the driveway and watched as Hubs lit a small popper and ran to safety. It zipped into the sky and exploded with a bang.
Baby jumped.
“I scared. I wan’ go home now,” she said, turning to walk back toward the steps.
“No, Baby,” I said gently. “Let’s watch a few more.”
“Ohhhh-kayyyy,” she said resignedly. I sat down on the driveway and she settled in my lap. Hubs lit another one, and then another. By the third firework, she was clapping and shouting “Yaaayyyyy!” after the bang.
Hubs and I conferred and decided it was time for the big one, an imported-from-Japan 21-firecracker-salute. He lit it and raced for the safety of the yard while I laughed at his speed.
Within seconds, the first rocket soared into the sky and exploded, then the second, then the third. For the next minute, our cul-de-sac was alight with sparkles and stars and smoke. Baby watched, open mouthed with wonder. At the end, she clapped for a long time.
“Dada!” she called. “Again?”
“That was the last one,” Hubs told her. “It’s time to go back inside now,”
Regretfully, she followed us back up the front steps.
“Dada,” she said when we got inside, “I not scared.”
“You’re not scared of the fireworks?” he said.
“I were scared,” she qualified, “but I not scared no more. I wan’ more fireworks.”
At that moment, I was so proud of my Baby. Already, I see in her a girl who will face her fears and conquer them.
Equally important, I see a girl who won’t force us to leave tonight’s 4th of July celebration early. Because I love fireworks. And missing them would be a damn shame.
>This gives me hope for my 2-year-old liking them then. I blogged today about my son’s fear of them. It’s a really difficult few days each year for us because people in our neighborhood go nuts with shooting them off for several days in a row. Ugh.
>Boy, I am impressed! And what a great stragey…a loud noise warm up. And it worked.I have spent more 4th of July nights sitting inside our camp as the fireworks whiz-banged outside comforting a freaked out child then I care to remember. Just as one would outgrow it another would decide that loud was not good. Enjoy the display…the whole family!
>That’s a great idea. Queen B has suddenly decided that she doesn’t like loud noises, just in time for the 4th, of course. We might have to try that.Enjoy the fireworks!
>Brilliant! A trial run, and if she hates it you can find a sitter and everyone will be happy. In this case, she acclimatized, and will now be as excited as everyone else. You one smart momma!
>That’s excellent! Our oldest son was very noise sensitive but the bigger problem was our Bearded Collie…oy vey! Until he lost his hearing last year he barked and whined from first pop to last bang…poor guy…not a fun night for him or us.
>Wow! She is a brave 2-year-old! We had to leave a parade early because the horns & loud instruments scared the crap out of our boy!Happy 4th!
>You are so smart!We’re taking MM to the fireworks tomorrow. They’ll be his first and he’s four.I’m going to explain that they are very noisy but beautiful and the noise will be worth it.
>Good strategy, Mum. 😉
>Hope you all had fun! Lovely post.
>She’s going to love the big show tonight. Happy 4th!!!
>PS – Happy Anniversary!!And I think your Baby is just about the cutest, smartest thing in the world.
>I loved fireworks when I was little too. But I wasn’t too crazy about sparklers. That was fire just a little too close to my hand. By the way, I thought you might want to know that some of your sidebar headlines are blocking out portions of text on the right-hand side. I don’t know if it shows up like this on all browsers or just Firefox, but I thought you might want to know.
>We enjoyed a great show in Worcester, MA, with an extended finale! Wonderful night until some idiot threw a firecracker on the ground in front of us just as the park was emptying. My ear is still ringing! Happy 4th!
>Great idea of yours – glad to hear it worked. I love fireworks as well. Missing them on the 4th is kinda like missing Christmas – you know? We’re lucky in that we don’t have to go anywhere since we moved down here. One of our neighbors is a certified pyromaniac. Every year he sets off enough big fireworks to qualify our subdivision for small town status. It’s pretty cool – just sit out on the back deck and enjoy. Of course – we have to go in and constantly check on our dog Ginger. Loud noises get a definite thumbs down from her. Anyway – have fun tonight. Happy 4th to all here!
>This test? Is was all for the child, right? Right.
>Great thinking! Glad it turned out ok.
>Glad it worked out!!!!
>My 3 year old just saw his first fireworks at Disneyland last week…they were the loudest things I have ever heard, but he was cheering them on, waving his fists at them as if he were at his first wiggles/metallica concert. Totally killed me…