9 yo son afraid to fly

[kydisneyfans]

I would just drive.

 

[McKeeFamily3]

Again, thanks for all the great idea everyone. We are planning on going to the airport this weekend and see the planes take off and land. I think this will be a good first step.

Just a few comments here:
We are not flying just to get out of 10 hours of driving. It is a 2 day drive for us and as stated we have limited time. Also as previously stated, we enjoy the road trip part of our vacations, we just don't have the time.

Also, as some posters have stated, giving in to his fear teaches him nothing. It is ok to have fears, and we respect his feelings concerning them. That being said, we can not live our lives around our fears. We are not going to do anything that will traumatize our son. Yes, he is scared, but he is obviously willing to do it. (all it took was on offer of unlimited frozen cokes ) I have the feeling that you all think that he is in a constant state of panic about this and is laying awake at night with visions of plane crashes going through his head. It's not like that at all. In fact it really hasn't been brought up since he's "decided" to go. He's been going on and on about DW but not flying. I know that he is still nervous and scared though. I am just looking for ways to make him more at ease about the situation.

Thanks again!

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

here's a great website that might help your ds.
http://www.takingflight.us/
You can ask questions to real pilots too.
I had some "issues" after a very turbulent flight. This website helped me get past them. (that and flying many normal flights after) I also bought the book that the previous Southwest pilot wrote. It explains the reasons behind the noises, bumps, etc. It explains turbulence very well.

http://www.amazon.com/This-Is-Your-...bs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1201354055&sr=8-1


I wouldn't change my plans and drive even if you had more time. Kids are afraid of so many things. If he said he was afraid of starting a new school you wouldn't say, "fine. stay home and we'll homeschool." (unless you were planning to otherwise)

Have a great trip and I hope your son looks back and says it wasn't so bad. Might even say it was fun!

 

[TammyAlphabet]

I really think you should help him work through his fears and learn to feel calm about flying. If this becomes a phobia or something, it will be an impediment to him in later life.