My DD and Thunderstorms

[Piglet]

The other night we had a Thunderstorm in the middle of the night and my 6 yo DD woke up a mess. She was shaking, crying, sick to her stomach and vomited. It took me a long time to get her settled down and then she kept asking if it was over yet and was it coming back. She could hear the thunder in the distance.

She has always been afraid of thunderstorms, but it seems to be getting worse. I tried to talk to her about it and she says the noise is what scares her. I told her that she was safe in our house and that her Dad and myself are there to protect her.

I thought of calling her pediatrician to discuss it, Do you think I should? Does anyone else have a child that is so afraid of thunderstorms and how did you help them???

Any advice??

Melinda

 

[peg2001]

My DD was terrified of storms when she was younger. You could certainly bring it up with your pediatrician. What we did was attempt to desensitize her. When it would start to get cloudy and windy outside, I took her into the garage with the door open. We sat and snuggled in a chair and watched the storm roll in. I reassured her the best I could and explained how I actually liked the sound of storms, what lightening was, what thunder was, etc. When she became too scared, we went inside, but tried again during the next storm. I live in East Tennessee so there is plenty of thunderstorm activity!

It has been a few years now and she is no longer terrified of storms. She doesn't LIKE them, but she tolerates them.

She had a similar fear of BUGS when she was 2. It was so bad that she did not want to go outside to play because "that is where the bugs live." I started catching any bug I could in a plastic jar with a lid so that she could study them and still feel safe. We read books about bugs, looked at pictures, watched videos. We are still struggling with this fear a bit and it seems to fluctuate, getting better for a while and then getting worse again.

Good luck,
Peggy

 

[Yzma and Kronk]

During storms I tell DD and DS that the Angels are having a bowling tourament! The lightning is the strobe lights for the bowling party. You can try taking her to a bowling ally to show her that the noise is similar. It works for us!

 

[becka]

I don't know but if you learn how to cure this fear could you let me know for myself!

I am pretty terrified of storms and I am afraid that I am going to cause the same fear in DS if he picks up on my fear (which won't be hard). It is not so much the storms (thunder, lightening) that scare me but the possibility of severe weather (damaging hail and tornados). I have been in 2 very close situations with tornados and I do not wish to repeat the experience.

 

[Towncrier]

I wish that I had some advice for you, but my 13yo DD is still terrified of thunderstorms and has been her entire lifetime. I don't know where this fear came from, but she is a complete wreck whenever it storms. It sounds like your DD gets really worked up. Perhaps the pediatrician might have some suggestions.

 

[Fishbone†]

My 10 year old niece is like this..... has been since she was camping with her grandparents and a tornado tore through the campground (she was 3). Anyway, some things we have done to alleviate the fear at bit......

1) She has a storm pack.... a backpack with some snacks, a flashlight, bandaids, her blankie (which she doesn't use daily anymore)...... and I can't remember what else, which she keeps close to her during a storm, and takes to the basement if that's necessary.

2) My dad learned to read the clouds when he was young, so he has taught her what he knows so she can read the "storm"..... we also got a couple of "cloud" books for the same purpose. This way she's not scared of a "simple" thunderstorm. She calls my dad everytime there is a storm to "read" the clouds to him.

3) She has been taught all the safety tips (in case there's a need) so she feels comfortable and confident that she knows the procedures should they be necessary.

I think sometimes we have a fear of the unknown, and knowledge of something can give us a feeling of "strength" and "confidence" plus eliminate any unecessary worries.

Just MHO.

 

[Dizzy-Disney4]

I have a friend who is 26 and still terrified of storms. She reacts the same way as your DD. She doesn't react that way to anything else. She is going to go to her doctor, I think, to see if he can do something to help. She literally cannot function during a storm and has such a pysical reaction.
Good luck with DD...most kids outgrow their fear of storms.

 

[DaisyDebbie]

I'm afraid of lightening storms and so is my 9 yo dd. My dh absolutely loves them and goes outside to watch, so does my 7 yo ds. I try to be real brave and go outside with them but it doesn't last long.

My dd gets very scared and will cry but does not get physically ill.

 

[MerryPoppins]

If it's mainly the noise that bothers her you might get her some earplugs to use during storms. They allow you to hear, but cut down on the loud claps of thunder. Some people are just more sensitive to loud noises than others.

 

[Piglet]

Thanks for all your advice. She is very sensitive to loud noises. I think I will wait and see how she reacts with the next one. Usually her fears are worse with storms at night than with ones during the day. If it continues I am going to talk to her pediatrician.

Melinda

 

[Pooh Girl 71]

I as always terrified of storms as a child. I would lay in my bed at night saying my prayers and there were 2 types. The first one was to bless and take care if everyone I knew. The other one was to please not let us have.....I would name every natural disaster I could think of.

I would cry and just freak out when a storm came through and God forbid if we should get a tornado watch/warning...I was through. I was this way my until I was 26 or so. I was driving back from KY to VA. I had to go up Afton Mountain in Charlottseville (a very tall mountain) and had to drive straight through the most menacing storm cloud I have ever seen. That cloud was black and had lighting bolts coming out every direction. I lived and am now not so scared.

My mom never took me to the dr or anything but I think she should have. My behavior was not normal IMO.