Most kids are scared of the dark or have a fear of monsters hiding in their closet. Not my son. Ever since he was a wee tike playing on a blanket in the park he has abhored pine cones. If he sees one in his path he will point it out, say pine cone and walk completely around the area of it. Even if he sees a pine cone while swinging, he will get a stone cold look on his face and just repeat the word pine cone until I pick it up and move it out of his sight. As his mother, I'm not quite sure how this phobia developed. Do you have a pine cone phobia?
I'd like to share with you one of my son's pine cone experiences that was very memorable to me. It happened at a park playdate, when I asked other moms if their child had any issues with pine cones and their reaction was "ah no!" I guess this other mother wanted to see if this funny phobia was genuine, so she asked her daughter to pick up a pine cone and give it to my son. My son is normally a social child - giving and taking, saying please and thank you - however in this case and a dozen or so times before, he shied away and cried no. I promptly picked him up and soothed him. A few minutes later, I picked up a pine cone and rubbed it against my hand to show him that nothing will happen to me if I touched this prickly, brown, inanimate object. Despite my futile efforts to aclimate my two-year old to nature's decorations, he still climbs my leg when he sees a pine cone. Will he out grow this phobia or should I call the pediatrician?
If my son was older and could talk about the reason why he is so afraid of pine cones then I would be less worried. However, I guess the reason why I am concerned is perhaps because he is so young and the fear seemed to materialize out of nowhere. How do you reverse a phobia that could have started as something as simple as stepping on a pine cone while barefoot?
I am not making light of my son's phobia or any other phobia for that matter. I just find it interesting that one child's curiosity could lead to such extreme behaviorial reactions that may fall between the sublime and the ridiculous. Use the comment area to share with us your child's fears to find out if there are other parents sharing the same concerns.
