Afraid of Characters...

[FJJM0621]

My DD will be 4 when we go in Sept., is a bit afraid of characters. She freaked at the Easter Bunny this year so no pic...
We took her to WDW when she was 18mths and she wanted nothing to do with them. I am not one to push, but I want her to see that they won't hurt her & that she has nothing to be afraid of.

I have been showing her the character interactions on youtube and the pics on this site of kids with characters so she can have an idea of what to expect...she says she can't wait to meet Cindy & Minnie...

SO, what should I tell her - that they are pretend & it's just a person in there (I REALLY don't want to ruin the magic!!) or just go with it and see the
reaction this time...??

What do you tell your kids that are afraid???

 

[JeremyGNJ]

Here's my idea on that....

Dont tell her anything about them.....and dont TRY to introduce her to them!!!!!

If you just ignore them and walk around the park like normal....I bet her own curiosity will bring her to ask if she sees someone interesting....and then she wont be afraid.

 

[MinnieForMe]

I agree about not making a big deal about them. Perhaps, you could give one of the characters a big hug or get an autograph. My 23 month old jumped into their arms last year but this year at 2.5 she's afraid of the Easter bunny too! We'll see in a few week's how she does. I'm not going to push her. There's always the next trip!

 

[*KeepMovingForward*]

I wouldn't really call attention to the characters when you go to Disney. I would just go about your park touring and if your DD wants to see them or mentions them, then I'd take a cue from her. My kids weren't scared of the characters-they were just weirded out by them. After a few days of being in the parks, they came around on their own without any prodding on my part or my DH. I wouldn't do anything to prepare your DD for the characters, sometimes that can backfire and just raise her anxiety level in the interim.

 

[lpbm4]

My dd was deathly afraid of characters....until WDW! She was just shy of 4yrs of age and refused to see Santa, Easter Bunny, even Chuck E Cheese! We went to WDW and she would be the one walking up to everyone!

 

[FJJM0621]

great tips... thank you.

And yes, there is always next time since we plan on going every 2 years.

 

[heartbeeps]

we're only doing Princess (face) character meals b'c our 5 1/2 y/o niece is so afraid of Santa, the Easter Bunny, you name it. If she see's a character GREAT; if not, that's just fine too. No coercing, pleading, or bribing on our part. IF it's meant to be - it will be!

 

[mybabesuz]

My kids always hated the Easter Bunny and Santa...

But when we went last year, when they were 1 1/2 and 2 1/2
there were Characters they loved... Mickey and Minnie...

And some they were scared of. They would just cling to us or hide...
Every kid is totally different...
I think it is impossible to predict any kids reaction.

Suzanne

 

[design_mom]

My dd was deathly afraid of characters....until WDW! She was just shy of 4yrs of age and refused to see Santa, Easter Bunny, even Chuck E Cheese! We went to WDW and she would be the one walking up to everyone!

This sounds like my DS, too. He did not like characters *at all.* We decided we just wouldn't "do" characters at WDW. (Honestly, I don't want to spend all my time in character lines anyway.)

We spent the first day avoiding characters -- not making a big deal of it, just not trying to go near them or pointing them out. Near the end of our first day, my DS (3.5 at the time) said, "Hey... I thought Mickey Mouse lives here." We replied that he does. DS said, "Why haven't we seen him yet?" so we went to Mickey's house. I was sure he'd change his mind as soon as he saw Mickey. Imagine my surprise when he walked up to Mickey and gave him a hug. Disney characters are special somehow.

Another good option for "easing" into characters could be watching a parade (waving from a distance).

 

[TheDizMom]

Our DD was about the same age when she went for the first time. She was very afraid of any character that wasn't a princess or look like a normal person. We didn't try the meet & greets with her she just wouldn't do them. We were able to get her in pictures with characters at the character meals by putting me or DH between her and the character and making sure we told the character right away she was afraid and not to try and approach her and touch her. It worked well and they were very cooperative. I would say the first time you see a character point them out from a distance and if she seems interested take her over. if not, just ignore them and hopefully she'll change her mind as she gets used to them (although that never worked for our DD ). At least you can get her in pictures with princesses . We did try the "it's just a person in a costume" thing. No luck there . If you want her to believe in the magic just skip that. It doesn't seem to work anyway .

Good luck, and don't be too disappointed if it doesn't work this time. When we went last year and DD was 6, she loved every character and couldn't stop hugging and kissing them. I think she was just amazed that she wasn't afraid of them this time, so she just couldn't get enough .

 

[WAHMto5]

Our 6 year old and 3 year old girls are both VERY afraid of all the characters. We just avoid them as much as possible. My 6 yr old knows that they are fake, though still will have nothing to do with them The hardest part is not going to any of the character meals.

 

[Nicoleclaw]

Dd was the same way at 22 months. SHOOK when she saw those ugly bears! She told me she does not want to take pics with any characters. I went on Youtube and you can see tons of videos of kids getting pics taken with characters. We watched some and one by one she was like, ok I can get my pic with Minnie, ok, Cinderella, ok Jasmine, etc. She is also 4. Good luck!