Conquered Fear
We took the kids to a local amusement park to have some fun and burn off some energy. My 3 year old is quite the ride junkie, but the little guy hadn't yet experienced the rush and excitement of the thrill ride.
Knowing he already has an irrational fear of loud & noisy machines (like the lawnmower and vacuum cleaner), it was questionable as to whether my parental judgement was in line or if I should have been smacked for even considering such a thing.
Off to the umbrella cars we went. My oldest hopped in and was raring to go. The boy, on the other hand, not so much. It was a fight to get him in the seat and pin him down long enough to get the seat belt strap on. Crocodile tears poured from the eyes and the sound of sobbing filled the air. He reached his arms up to me as if to say "save me mama! help me! get me out of here!" For a fleeting moment I thought, what kind of mother am I torturing my poor child like this?
I assured him he was going to have FUN, and he was with sister so everything was okay. Mama was going to be right here - outside this fence. Hmm. Brilliant. Strap the poor kid in so he is crying and freaking out and then just walk away and go behind a fence so you can't even hold his hand. Maybe this wasn't the most intelligent idea.
The ride operator asked me if he was going to be okay. I responded with I will let you know within the first 2 seconds if you need to stop this ride or not. And he pushed the big blue button.
Knowing he already has an irrational fear of loud & noisy machines (like the lawnmower and vacuum cleaner), it was questionable as to whether my parental judgement was in line or if I should have been smacked for even considering such a thing.
Off to the umbrella cars we went. My oldest hopped in and was raring to go. The boy, on the other hand, not so much. It was a fight to get him in the seat and pin him down long enough to get the seat belt strap on. Crocodile tears poured from the eyes and the sound of sobbing filled the air. He reached his arms up to me as if to say "save me mama! help me! get me out of here!" For a fleeting moment I thought, what kind of mother am I torturing my poor child like this?
I assured him he was going to have FUN, and he was with sister so everything was okay. Mama was going to be right here - outside this fence. Hmm. Brilliant. Strap the poor kid in so he is crying and freaking out and then just walk away and go behind a fence so you can't even hold his hand. Maybe this wasn't the most intelligent idea.
The ride operator asked me if he was going to be okay. I responded with I will let you know within the first 2 seconds if you need to stop this ride or not. And he pushed the big blue button.Instantly the cries stopped. Before the cars even made a quarter turn around the big circle there was screeching and laughter coming from the same boy whom just a second ago was beside himself in tears. He grabbed onto that steering wheel and a Nascar racer was born. It was nothing but grins and giggles after that.
And then the ride stopped. And the crying began. And the fight to get him off that ride was even worse than the fight to get him on. Fear was conquered and a ride junkie was born.
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