7 yo scared to fly

[ICan'tWait]

DS (7 yo) has said for months now that he will not be going to Disney with us this summer. He has flown many, many times but read a "scary" book for school and now insists he won't be flying, not even for Disney (which he loves). I have visions of him screaming he's not going on the plane at the airport. Can they keep us from flying if he does get panicked at the airport? My SIL said give him benadryl as it's an overnight flight but that stuff hypes him out. Any other suggestions??

 

[fairyprincess1]

Have you asked him what part of the flight he is afraid of? If you can figure that out & then find a way to calm his fear of that - maybe meeting a pilot who can talk to him about flying the plane - maybe visiting a local museum where he could sit in a cockpit & feel more comfortable about it. Until you know exactly what he is afraid of, you can't reassure him about it.

 

[ICan'tWait]

Have you asked him what part of the flight he is afraid of? If you can figure that out & then find a way to calm his fear of that - maybe meeting a pilot who can talk to him about flying the plane - maybe visiting a local museum where he could sit in a cockpit & feel more comfortable about it. Until you know exactly what he is afraid of, you can't reassure him about it.

It was a book about a flight crashing and the people on board became ghots on the planes that took the other planes parts. Basically he thinks we're going to crash. A family we're close to, the husband is a pilot. I've reminded DS that our friend flies everyday he goes to work, etc., etc., and I know our friend would talk to him but DS is not budging on the "never flying ever again"...

 

[rie'smom]

Explain he'll be fine and then give him a Dramamine. It worked for my daughter when she was younger. She's 16 and every once in awhile, she gets the frights and asks for the Dramamine.

 

[ancestry]

Can they keep us from flying if he does get panicked at the airport?

Yes, they can keep you from flying. If he has a major melt down and refuses to get on the plane they will not allow you to carry him or push him forcibly onto the plane. Also if he freaks out on the plane by either screaming, yelling, or refusing to sit in his seat they will not allow the plane to take off and will most likely ask you to depart from the plane.

Good luck! I don't have any suggestions on how to make him not afraid.

 

[dis-happy]

I can't believe that they would assign a book like that at school!

 

[klacey1]

I can't believe that they would assign a book like that at school!

Me neither! That is INCREDIBLY scary for a seven year old! I don't blame him for being scared. I think you just need to present it as a situation in which he has no choice-- you can just tell him he doesn't have a choice, he will be going. Is he the type to have tantrums often? Or are you just afraid he might? Cars are more dangerous than planes, and he rides in them everyday. Explain that everything will be fine-- let him know he doesn't have a choice. KNOWING that there's no option to say no might make him realize he has to get used to the idea.

 

[frtchr]

Maybe you can find a book that will counteract the other book. Google it; there are probably books for kids who are afraid to fly. Good luck!!

 

[newdrama12]

Here is a link to an article that might be able to help: http://www.travelismorefunwithkids....to-overcome-your-children-fear-of-flying.html

It gives you ideas on how to try and calm the fear of flying. Hope it helps at least a little bit.

 

[PiperPizzaz]

That is awful. I wish I had some advice other than you really need to figure this out this time. If he somehow gets out of flying this is likely to turn into a major phobia and be with him for a long long time.
Oh I just thought of one other thing. Maybe try visualization. He obviously has visualized crashing from the book. If you can walk him through a complete flight maybe that will help.
GL!

 

[treehugnmama]

my dd turns 6 next month and she said the same thing!
she loves disney and we have gone to disney 3 times this year and it has never been an issue...that is 6 flights? She told me she wanted to stay at grandmas or drive there (24 hr drive)

I feel for you! when we talked to dd she sisn't want to fly in the dark so that was easy enough to fix....but reassuring a plane won't crash is a tough one.

I also understand about drugs making a child hyper. My dd has to take a gravol for the dentist...we then drive 1 hr to get there and she isn't even sleepy at all.

My dd has a lot anxiety and one thing I have learned is not to play into it as it makes it so much worse. Helping him to get over his fear rather than avoiding it will be helping him so much more. What was reccommended to us was this:

child is very afraid of fire drill and a little afraid of spiders.
work on the fear of spiders to show them that you can get over your fears and than focus on the bigger fear.

good luck!!