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Forum -> Parenting our children -> Our Challenging Children (gifted, ADHD, sensitive, defiant)
Dd afraid of the rain help!



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amother
OP


 

Post Fri, Aug 27 2021, 1:48 pm
My 5 yr old is afraid of the rain. This started pretty recently when we had a big storm with thunder and lightning and ever since shes terrified. For days after she would ask me every night if it will rain. Any tips/advice? She goes nuts every time it rains cuz shes afraid of thunder. She wakes up in middle of the night to if it starts thundering. How can I calm her down, its not like I can make it stop.
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amother
OP


 

Post Fri, Aug 27 2021, 2:57 pm
Bump
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amother
Lightcoral


 

Post Fri, Aug 27 2021, 3:08 pm
For my kids new fears and phobias is always brain inflammation. We treat with anti inflammatories and treat the source of the inflammation if we could find it, usually an infection or allergies.
Is she fearful in general ? Otherwise neurotypical ?
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amother
Aquamarine


 

Post Sat, Aug 28 2021, 3:13 pm
I went through this with my son when he was about the same age. I just held him until he calmed down. As time passed he would be less hysterical but took a couple of years til he was totally calm during a storm. There were a couple of other fears he had like the dentist (he would even be scared when he saw the dentist in Shul!) but B"H he's outgrown his fears and is a great 10 year old kid now.
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amother
OP


 

Post Sat, Aug 28 2021, 6:34 pm
So she doesnt like loud sounds. Thats what it comes from I guess. Its just hard that she refuses to go to sleep or wake up in the middle of the night.
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amother
Stoneblue


 

Post Sat, Aug 28 2021, 7:06 pm
amother [ Lightcoral ] wrote:
For my kids new fears and phobias is always brain inflammation. We treat with anti inflammatories and treat the source of the inflammation if we could find it, usually an infection or allergies.
Is she fearful in general ? Otherwise neurotypical ?


I'm sorry, but fearing rain because of a bad storm is a normal fear in a child.

When it storms, I tell my kids how lucky we are that we get to make special brachos only when we see thunder and lightning, and I make sure not to show my kids that I'm afraid (which sometimes I am when it's a really bad storm). We watch the lightning by the window to see when we could spot it. I try to wait till it gets milder before I put them into bed. I'm trying to get them not to be afraid of thunder and lightning.
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amother
Denim


 

Post Sat, Aug 28 2021, 7:21 pm
amother [ Lightcoral ] wrote:
For my kids new fears and phobias is always brain inflammation. We treat with anti inflammatories and treat the source of the inflammation if we could find it, usually an infection or allergies.
Is she fearful in general ? Otherwise neurotypical ?


What kind of anti inflammatories do you treat with? And how do you find the source, the infection or allergy?
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amother
Lightcoral


 

Post Sat, Aug 28 2021, 7:26 pm
amother [ Stoneblue ] wrote:
I'm sorry, but fearing rain because of a bad storm is a normal fear in a child.

When it storms, I tell my kids how lucky we are that we get to make special brachos only when we see thunder and lightning, and I make sure not to show my kids that I'm afraid (which sometimes I am when it's a really bad storm). We watch the lightning by the window to see when we could spot it. I try to wait till it gets milder before I put them into bed. I'm trying to get them not to be afraid of thunder and lightning.
Depends on the context. Mild fear that can be reassured in otherwise neurotypical, unfearful children may be normal, extreme fear, lots of new fears, or generalized anxiety and fear fullness without letting themselves be reassured, sometimes within a context of other behaviors may indicate something more going on.
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amother
Lightcoral


 

Post Sat, Aug 28 2021, 7:27 pm
amother [ Denim ] wrote:
What kind of anti inflammatories do you treat with? And how do you find the source, the infection or allergy?
Ibuprophen for inflammation. Labs for infections. Assumed allergies if it’s allergy season and we’ve ruled out new or relapsed infections. Sometimes it’s a guessing game.
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amother
Apricot


 

Post Tue, Aug 31 2021, 2:36 pm
Omg my daughter too! She's 6
Haven't figured out a solution yet. Something that made a tiny dent was problem solving - we talked about what she would do if it rains, which raincoat she would want to wear. It didn't really help a lot, cuz she's also afraid of thunder, but just wanted to let you know your dd is not the only one!
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raich




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Aug 31 2021, 3:21 pm
Would you consider going outside in a rainstorm and dancing and making a huge show that it's no big deal and actually quite fun? (I would guess this would depend on where you live and if you'd be self-conscious to dance outside hehe. I also wouldn't necessarily go outside in an active lightning storm.)

There's nothing like humor and "being in it with her" to help overcome fears.
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amother
Olive


 

Post Tue, Aug 31 2021, 4:08 pm
amother [ Stoneblue ] wrote:
I'm sorry, but fearing rain because of a bad storm is a normal fear in a child.

When it storms, I tell my kids how lucky we are that we get to make special brachos only when we see thunder and lightning, and I make sure not to show my kids that I'm afraid (which sometimes I am when it's a really bad storm). We watch the lightning by the window to see when we could spot it. I try to wait till it gets milder before I put them into bed. I'm trying to get them not to be afraid of thunder and lightning.


I agree that it seems to be a common fear, and like most of those ideas. Regarding the bolded, however, I was advised by my child's therapist that can it be beneficial if the parent validates that things can be frightening and only then sets an example for a healthy response. Like, "wow that sudden loud boom made jump! Thunder is so powerful we have special bracha for it. It's the lighting that causes the thunder so let's go watch by the window and see if we can spot some!"
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shabbatiscoming




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Aug 31 2021, 11:46 pm
amother [ OP ] wrote:
So she doesnt like loud sounds. Thats what it comes from I guess. Its just hard that she refuses to go to sleep or wake up in the middle of the night.
This happened to my daughter when she was younger. She brought a fan into her room, for the white noise. It helped a lot. Now she sleeps with the fan all winter (it only rains in the winter here in Israel)
And a therapist told us that this was actually extremely resourceful of my daughter. She was scared but she found a solution to help her not hear the noise and it helped her fall asleep. She also would not fall asleep and wake up and refuse to go back to sleep. But since the fan is in her room now, the noise helps her a lot.
Can you do that for her? Or an actual white noise machine?
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