Help with kids fear of characters

[lily2521]

I think DD (6) will do fine with face characters, but the ones where you can't see their face she seems to be scared of, even in talking about our upcoming trip.

We had an ADR at Tusker and I cancelled it because she said she'd see Mickey, but only from far away. She's already showing some hesitation in wanting to meet those types of characters.

I'm okay with cancelling Tusker, but I'd hate for her to avoid meeting some characters I know she'd love (Baymax, Minnie, Minnie, Daisy). Any tips?

 

[sweetnjmom]

If she's showing hesitation, I wouldn't pressure her. Maybe after meeting the princesses, she'll be excited to meet Mickey and Minnie, etc.

I thought my son would be terrified when he was 4 (after a bad experience at Sesame Place) but he loved meeting characters. It was all he wanted to do.

Follow her cues... she'll have fun regardless.

 

[Alesia]

If she's showing hesitation, I wouldn't pressure her. Maybe after meeting the princesses, she'll be excited to meet Mickey and Minnie, etc.

I agree. Remember, this is about her, not you.

 

[lily2521]

That's true, and the last thing I want to do is make her feel like she has to do it. If she wants to (and is comfortable with) seeing them from afar, then that's what we'll do.

 

[kj2mom]

My 5 year old daughter was okay from a distance, we taught her the 'no thank you _________'. For us this generally worked but for some reason Pluto at Chef Mickey didn't really want to take no.....it ended up working out alright because he won her over and the rest of the trip she was fine. I knew going in the character thing was not for her so I just let her control what happened. My motto for the entire week was 'it is all about the kids' (my twins turned 5 while we were there). I did not completely rule out character meals because her brother loved them but we did try to make it a happy medium (in other words not forcing her to do anything she was not comfortable with) and in the end Pluto changed her mind!

 

[figment_jii]

If you can, I would schedule Tusker House for middle to late into the trip. That way, if she likes the characters she'll see more at the meal, but if she does not, you have time to cancel it without penalty.

Another option is that at the character meal, I would also consider putting her on the inside of the table, as far from the characters as possible. At least that way, if she doesn't want to meet them, you stand a better chance of waving them off before they go to her. I took a 3 year to a character meal and he wasn't terribly sure about the mask characters. We were a group of 6, so we put him by the wall, so that there were two adults between him and the characters initially. He stared at the first few with suspicion and concern, but when they stood on the opposite side of the table and just waved, he relaxed. Ultimately he even decided to go hug Daisy (not sure why Daisy, he'd never mentioned her before!), but we let him go at his own pace.

I would not push her to meet the characters if she's not ready, but I would give her a chance to get as close as she is comfortable with them. If that means waving at them from across the way, do that until she's ready to go closer.

 

[Jewel3k]

Here is our experience with a frightened child. My youngest at three decided at Chef Mickey's the characters were very scary. Both costume and face. He hid under the table there and at CRT. He got upset and we approached them so his siblings to meet them. This year at 5 1/2 he hid under the table, but would come out if they did not look at him. He would walk across the room and look at them while his siblings meet the characters. He is getting braver. We don't push, but we do ask. After the trip he actually touched both Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny. He wants to go back to Chef Mickey's and hide under the table next year. Maybe he will be braver at 6 and a half. If you want her to see interaction with her favorites, you could have her watch you meet them from the other side of the room. A compromise of not pushing and maybe she will get braver by the end of the trip.

 

[Mrs. Max Goof]

Sometimes the fear just has to do with the surprise that some of these characters are absolutely huge! My recommendation is to watch m&g's on YouTube so she can see the size of the character next to other children, as well as have expectations of what a m&g will be like. Still take it slow at the parks, but a little time set aside to prepare her should help!

 

[pjhootch]

Don't be so sure she would really love to meet them. Maybe, maybe not. My oldest wouldn't go near Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny. Mickey Mouse gave her nightmares, even from a distance she wanted no part of it. She got over the fear, but never developed an interest in meeting characters. Not even the princesses. She LOVED Disney princesses (there weren't as many back then)in the movies but not walking around. We found the best way to deal with her fears was simply to ignore it, but not get her up close to them. It made her mad if someone (grandmother) asked her if she was "sure you don't want to?" Believe me, if your daughter decides she wants to get close to a character I'm sure she will let you know.

 

[drcmk]

Let her decide. And let her know that if she doesn't want to visit with a character that you will respect that and not pressure her. Make sure you take advantage of non-character photo opportunities all over the parks. Have a great trip!

 

[Julylady]

My youngest niece was scared of the characterics when she was three. We started off really slow. I would hold her and stand about fifty feet from a character. I would talk her through it. She the girl walking to Tigger? She's giving him her book to sign, now she's going to get a picture with him. Now it's her brother's turn. We would get a few feet closer each time. By the fourth day she was doing a character meal, but only when sitting in her Dads lap. By the fifth day, she was running up to them alone. We never pressured her, just desensitized her to her fears.

 

[lily2521]

Don't be so sure she would really love to meet them. It made her mad if someone (grandmother) asked her if she was "sure you don't want to?" Believe me, if your daughter decides she wants to get close to a character I'm sure she will let you know.

I guess I should add she's told me she'd like to meet them, that's how I know she wants to...but from afar, ha. I can see her getting irritated with us if we bug her about it, so we won't do that either. Good point though, if she wants to I'm sure she'll tell us, sounds like such a simple concept I actually hadn't though of!

Thanks everyone else too for your replies. We did go to MK for 1 day about 2 years ago, and she didn't want to meet the characters 'with heads on' then either. She was okay with the face characters, and loved meeting the princesses. She is very excited to meet the princesses this time around, so I'm sure we'll do that. I won't push her on the others though. The last thing I'd want to do is frighten her.

 

[Jenny Sanders]

When my daughter was 5 she was deathly afraid of all the characters. But, if my husband was carrying her, she did just fine. By the end of that trip, she was sitting with Minnie Mouse at Liberty Tree Tavern (when they had characters at the meal), all smiles, begging for her picture to be taken...

 

[tlmadden73]

I felt the character meals help "ease" a child into the characters. I thought my son would be terrified with characters .. and at first he was .. but after sitting at Tusker House and seeing them come up to other kids he adjusted. Plus .. you can pass on the characters when they come to your table.

Definitely a character meal is less scary than a dark room where you wait in line and forced to stand right next to the scary tall costumed character!

 

[Ambear]

I was a child who was scared of characters and they still disturb me now. I did just fine and loved disney a ton without ever needing to fill an autograph book. She may just need to watch them from very far away and she may never get over that. I don't even like watching them lol. It's too "five nights at freddy's" for me.

 

[kaetra]

Start with Pluto. He seems to be the least intimidating of all the furry guys because, well, he's a dog. Start with Pluto and work your way up.

 

[msmama]

My son always got nervous if characters came up to him (still does actually) but was fine if he was the one approaching them.

Also, I suggest Pooh as a good first character. Who can be afraid of Pooh bear? He's so snugly!!

My son (7) is actually the opposite and is terrified of face characters. It's hilarious to see him diving for cover when he encounters a princess (bad mother moment).

 

[finedice]

but I'd hate for her to avoid meeting some characters I know she'd love

Don't force it. She will meet them someday - when she is ready. Let her choose.

 

[lily2521]

Thanks for everyone's help here, I think I'll just let DD take the lead here, and not push it. For now, I've cancelled our Tusker ADR, and we'll just see how it goes when we're there. Thanks

 

[DVCcurious]

My son is 3 and we just got back. He was really scared of them the first day and then each day he got more comfortable. By the 4th day he'd run up to them at Meet and Greets.

So I'd say expose the child to the characters and don't force anything. They may warm up eventually.