I am trying to help my daughter with her 2 and 1/2 year old daughter. My poor grandaughter is deathly afraid of fire (as in the Japanese restaurant or any place with a brick oven that she notices the fire). She would not let her picutre be taken by a photographer today because as shoon as she heard the Click/Poof of the camera, she freaked out. We went to a restaurant the other day and someone had a lighter and she was completely gone....it is makeing my daughter crazy and everyone else as well. There is a new baby in the picture, only 3 months old, and things seem to have gotten worse since then, even though they have been around for over 9 months. I told my daughter to speak with her pediatrician about this problem, but I have raised 4 children of my own, and been around alot of ther kids and have never seen this kind of behavior. We are looking for any suggestions at this point.
I have a little boy that was 2 months premature and was very fearful of loud noises, screaming/laughing kids, dog barks, thunder, etc. He's gotten over most of those fears, but I know a lot of preemie children still have sensory disorders as they get older. Is her 2 year old by choice premature?
Sensory Processing Disorder was my first thought which use to be called Sensory integration dysfunction. I would suggest taking a look at this book called The Out-Of-Sync Child: Recognizing and Coping With Sensory Processing Disorder, revised edition (Perigee, 2005). My child has some of the systoms of this disorder and can be frustrating dealing with them. I know that change of having a new sibling could really disrupt the childs life too and cause some behaviors to occur and feelings of insecurity too. We had to have one on one time when our 2nd child was born and there is a 21/2 year difference between them. I would talk with a pediatrician who specializes in developmental issues and ask for a referral to the CDSA for a free evalation. The State of NC provides early intervention services up until the age of 3 and then the school is responsible for serving after the age of 3. It is a wonderful program. Even if you find out there is nothing, It is nice to be reassured this!
It sounds like she may have Sensory Integration Dyfunction, as whatever they are calling it now...Her pediatrician may say that she needs to be evaluated by an occupational therapist to see what type of sensory issues she has...You can also go on the internet and do a search for this "dysfunction" and find exercises that can be done with her at home to resolve her sensitivities...Or she could just be a 2 yr old with crazy quirks that will resolve themselves! Either way, she'll be fine!
If her fear of fire is that bad then your daughter just needs to talk to the child ped. and ask him to refer her to someone who can help the child over come the fear. It def. will not just go away with time if it is a phobia and may even get worse as she gets older.
