Oh man, it's been a hot summer. Hot hot hot hot hot. Heat records are being set all over the country, and Minneapolis has been no exception (87 records have been set so far this year!). Because we don't have central air, we spend a lot of time going from museum to restaurant to other air-conditioned venue. Lately we've tried to include some movie theaters.
As I mentioned in the previous post, I took Maisie and Maya to see Brave when Maya & family were visiting. Maisie was really freaked out by it, but she came away saying that she liked it.
Well, a few weeks later we decided to try to go see it all together, all four of us, as a family. Poor Maisie could. not. handle it. She cried and we had to leave. A week or two ago, the same thing happened - this time at Ice Age 3. Auntie Laura and Dylan stayed with Ella through the end of the movie, but I had to take Maisie out. Today, we considered going to see Pirates! Band of Misfits. Ella and Aaron both wanted to, but Maisie was dead set against it. So those two went, while Maisie and I hung out in a coffee shop.
This isn't limited to movies, which can understandably be overwhelming, with the huge screen and surround sound and all of that. Sometimes even watching a TV show, she finds whatever minor conflict there is to be so intense that she has to leave the room. Seriously, I never thought that My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic would be too frightening for her, but it's driven her out of the room more than once!
It's kind of frustrating. She knows that the show/movie/whatever isn't real, and she knows that it'll be fine in the end. Goodness knows she's seen enough kids' movies to grasp the happy ending concept! But in the moment, she gets so worked up that she's unable to pull herself out of it.
Sigh. So, we're obviously done with movies in the theater for a little bit (although we might keep trying, at least for $2 matinees at the second-run theater). Anyone have any ideas how we can help her remember that it's really just a show, and that there will be a happy ending?
3 comments:
Hilarious! Elspeth is the same way. I cannot count the times we've had to stop reading ( not even watching!) the Magic Tree House books because she's scared. Often she's scared that the kids will get in trouble rather than that they are in danger. To no avail I remind her it's a story & we know it'll turn out ok because there are a zillion more books. The good thing about this happening with a library book is that we can keep giving her opportunities to be brave and we are not out any cash as a result. My guess is that it's a normal phase for their age. After all, they are just realizing that real life can have some scary things in it and their worlds are expanding all the time. Still, it can be frustrating!
Thanks Laurel, it's nice to hear that someone else is in the same boat!
My mom says Aaron used to react that way and hide behind the couch when he was scared of movies or tv. Kyle says that he used to be scared of everything too..his imagination was pretty intense and everything was so real to him his emotions were heightened. It sounds like she's freaked out because she's so worried that something BAD is going to happen that she just can't stand it... Hopefully it's not anxiety and it's just a phase... I felt so bad for her at Grandma's because she had a little episode when Rowie fell down the stairs. Poor girl.
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