Scared of thunder and storms...

[SkyrMommy]

DD isn't terrified to the point of hysterics when it is storming, but the moment a rumble of thunder is heard she starts to get nervous and clings. She'll also repeat "thunder, no, no, no, go away" again and again.

What do you do for your little ones when it storms? DH and I snuggled with her in our bed and talked to her about the thunder, describing it, counting for it and calming her down a bit, but she still clung to me and refused to move until it was "all gone".

[liz]

Hopefully she will outgrow it soon, but maybe playing some music to drown out the sound? Or reading stories, something to distract her.

[LMPC]

DH and I both loooove thunder storms, so we take an "oooh cool" approach with DD. We say things like "Wow! Listen to those clouds rubbing together!" (okay, technically not true but it sounds cool.) We always tell DD that the thunder is not going to hurt her...and we just keep on playing.

[wellyes]

I agree with the PP about keeping a playful attitude. Last storm DD was panicking, and I was holding her and rocking and saying "it'll be ok", then DH came in and loudly, cheerfully explained why thunder is cool. It really turned the situation around. A white noise machine might help too.

[TwinFoxes]

This is JMHO, and I don't know your family dynamic, but it sounds like you're feeding her anxiety. By everyone hunkering in the bed and talking about it so much she may be getting the idea it's a big deal. For my DDs we had been reading the Dr. Seuss book "Mr. Brown Can Moo". Part of it reads "boom boom boom, Mr. Brown is a wonder! Boom boom boom, Mr. Brown makes thunder!" so the first time we heard thunder and the girls' eyes got big I said "boom boom boom, Mr. Brown is a wonder! Boom boom boom, Mr. Brown makes thunder!" It worked like a charm! Now they always say it during storms. (little do they know, I'm no fan of thunder!)

[SkyrMommy]

Jumping on the bed and hanging out in our room is a norm in the morning, so I didn't worry about making her too much more anxious, but I'll try to be more non-event with the next storm... we've read that same Dr. Seuss book as well and DH did a pretty good goofy imitation of it this morning which did help a bit.

Thanks mamas for the advice so far!

[KpbS]

Originally Posted by TwinFoxes

This is JMHO, and I don't know your family dynamic, but it sounds like you're feeding her anxiety. By everyone hunkering in the bed and talking about it so much she may be getting the idea it's a big deal. For my DDs we had been reading the Dr. Seuss book "Mr. Brown Can Moo". Part of it reads "boom boom boom, Mr. Brown is a wonder! Boom boom boom, Mr. Brown makes thunder!" so the first time we heard thunder and the girls' eyes got big I said "boom boom boom, Mr. Brown is a wonder! Boom boom boom, Mr. Brown makes thunder!" It worked like a charm! Now they always say it during storms. (little do they know, I'm no fan of thunder!)

This is exactly what we have done w/ our DC. Works great

[twowhat?]

I sort of make a game out of it too. I will point it out as soon as I hear it: I'll chant "What do you hear? THUNDER!! What does thunder mean? BOOM BOOM BOOM it's gonna rain!" They still are a little uneasy about it and want to be near me but it's so much better than when they used to grab onto my legs and melt into a puddle of tears (which, by the way, they did when they saw the Easter Bunny).

I also point out our dogs (one of who freaks out) and say "Look, he's a little afraid too! I bet it's because thunder is loud. Are you afraid because thunder is loud? Well, I bet you can be even LOUDER!"

When it starts to rain I make a big deal about showing them the rain and remind them that the thunder told us it was going to rain!

[happymom]

Just this morning (in anticipation of big storm this afternoon), I was talking about rain/thunder/lightening with my preschool class (3-4yr olds). We were talking about how sometimes it rains lightly, and sometimes it rains very hard...then I told them that sometimes we get a special treat and even get to hear thunder and see lightening when it rains! Then we made thunder noises together by stamping our feet loudly (ok, didnt exactly sound like thunder but whatever) and lightening by turning on and off the lights. Anyways, later on, the thunder started and the kids were all excited and we started stamping our feet whenever it thundered. They loved it!

Still though, there are some thunders that are terrifying even to me! Tonight there was a huge cracking thunder and I nearly jumped out of my skin!