Dealing with a phobia in a child.

[So]

Our 9-year old has a phobia of the wind and rain, dating from some bad experiences with adverse weather conditions when he was younger.

We've seen a child psychologist with no benefit whatsoever.

He is a very bright child and it seems to me that his mind seeks to fill a void with something to worry about. When he is occupied with something he enjoys he tends not to notice that it's windy. I also suspect that he will grow out of it. However, we would like to help him deal with it in the short term.

Has anyone any experience with this sort of thing please?

[So]

popeyewhite said:

If he had a bad experience with the weather then your child's fear isn't irrational, so not a phobia. Look into CBT.

It pre-dated the actual experiences, they just made it worse. Two examples - when we had horrendous rain storms about 3-4 years ago he was worried the house would flood. We assured him it wouldn't. Literally two minutes later an Aco drain blocked and the kitchen flooded.

Six months later, at sports day, it was windy. We reassured him that everything would be okay, then a strong wind started and a gazebo collapsed on him, with one of the poles hitting him quite hard (don't laugh).

So basically he has learned that adults reassuring him cannot be trusted.

I suspect what the psychologist did was CBT.

[So]

popeyewhite said:

So said:

I suspect what the psychologist did was CBT.

It may have been. The idea behind CBT is to restructure negative thought patterns. If this hasn't happened then either it didn't work or there's something else going on. Could you try a Counsellor? Many Counsellors use an integrative approach which may suit your child better.

Possibly yes, it's this sort of thing I was hopping to find out. Thank you.

We spent about £1200 on the psychologist. He did well in the sessions and she was pleased with his progress. Then he'd run up the road screaming because it was windy.

[So]

popeyewhite said:

Poor kid, must be awful for him. I'm pretty sure this is quite common behaviour and it starts for many reasons...shock seems likely here so watching of weather forecasts and preparing him, explaining to him in a fun way what weather is, finding a safe place to go with him (make it fun - hide under the kitchen table?) when the weather turns.. . and also a little CBT..."The wind isn't out to get YOU, the wind's blowing the bad weather away so the sun can come out etc etc".

There was another trigger, he says, besides the kitchen flooding. His classroom door used to blow open loudly when it was windy; he was sat next to it. The headmaster had it sorted as soon as I contacted him directly about it.

I am sure you're right, I imagine this to be a fairly common problem.

He has said that understanding weather systems has helped him. He is a very bright child and and explanation that isn't factual will be uncovered and add to his distrust of adult explanations.

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Sheepshanks said:

So said:

So basically he has learned that adults reassuring him cannot be trusted.

Maybe that's part of the issue?

I don't think kids being scared of the weather is that unusual - we live in a rural area and our otherwise fearless 5yr old grandaughter really isn't happy when it's very windy.

I think part of the problem is that because he is bright, he can deal with most things he has to do. He feels in control. But he cannot control the weather.

I suspect that a lot of children are afraid of the wind, we just don't know any others.

[13m]

ReaderScars said:

Does he accept that windy conditions can also be great fun? Has he ever flown a kite for instance, or watched some kites surfers? Is he OK in water? If not could you get him into a floatation vest and then into water to show him how safe he can be?

Funny you should say this, I said to my wife we should teach him to windsurf.