‘Can we get a dog?’
Recently, my younger son has been asking for a dog. Repeatedly. Everywhere we go, he points out dogs to me. ‘Isn’t it cute? Look how fluffy it is! Imagine if we had a dog like that. Can we get a dog?’ The request is always accompanied by hugs and very big, pleading eyes. My boy is not the most affectionate of kids and will reject hugs from anyone apart from me, so to hug me in public must be a serious matter....
Going on holiday: facing my fears
I don’t suffer from anxiety as such, but there are things that make me nervous. Most of the time, those things don’t arise. And if they do, I can deal with them. But going on holiday means I have to face my fears: I’m claustrophobic I have a fear of illness, specifically vomiting (emetophobia) in anyone – not just myself I have IBS and struggle with certain foods I get very hungry and become emotional if I...
Irrational fear
My daughter has an irrational fear. It’s of the film Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (the newer one – with Johnny Depp). It was about 18 months ago that the kids insisted on buying the DVD, against my better judgement. She watched it and she was fine. Yet somehow after the event she developed this silly fear.It is so irrational that she can’t go into HMV ‘because they have Charlie and the Chocolate Factory...
Robbers again
My daughter is terrified of ‘robbers’. For her, the term ‘robbers’ covers all criminals, including those who steal people, as well as things. When my younger son was going to spend the night in the Hobbycraft car park, her main concern was that ‘robbers’ would get him. A pretty sensible concern really. Thankfully she hasn’t come across the terms ‘kidnapper’ or...
