Sunday, February 18, 2007
Dogs and Kids
Our dog Angus is afraid of the vacuum. He dashes around trying when we use it, making sure he stays far away.
The same dog, who never used to shed, now is making up for the previous 5 months of not losing hair. Every day we sweep up handfuls of the black stuff. So, Scott had a brilliant idea. Skip the middle part of shedding and vacuum it off instead. You can imagine how well that went over with Angus. Ben held him while Scott vacuumed, and out of mercy they gave up easily and let him go to run away, looking behind him the whole time.
It reminds me of Matthew. When he was a toddler he too was afraid of the vacuum. No, I didn't put it on his hair and turn it on, but I did try getting him to touch it when it was turned off, while I used high pitched reassuring tones to let him know it was okay. This also reminds me of another Matthew moment.
For his first birthday, he got a lot of cute toys. He was mostly interested in the boxes, but I tried to help him learn to play with what he got. One such item was a Thomas the Tank Engine train with cabooses. As it was pulled, it chugged and whistled. Matthew was freaked out.
I liked this toy, and thought I could help Matthew to conquer his fear like I did the vacuum cleaner. I held Matthew's hand while I pulled the toy. He looked apprehensive and kept darting glances at it. When he seemed calmer I put the string in his hand but he wouldn't pull it. By this time I had a goal. After a few days I was determined to help my son conquer his fear. But how could he, if he never used the toy? So, I tied the string to a button on his pyjamas one night. Then he would see that it isn't scary, and we could make a game of chasing each other around the house with the train in tow.
I took him into the kitchen and switched it on, to the sound of a "choo-choo"! Matthew's eyes went big, and he started moving, to escape the scary thing. As he moved though, it came with him, chasing him. He ended up at a cupboard, hanging onto the knob, trying to climb straight up. Cornered by Thomas. What a sad sight.
I quickly unleashed the grip of terror, laughing the whole time. I don't think he bears any emotional scars of it...I hope he doesn't. Maybe I'll take him on Via Rail sometime just to see.
The same dog, who never used to shed, now is making up for the previous 5 months of not losing hair. Every day we sweep up handfuls of the black stuff. So, Scott had a brilliant idea. Skip the middle part of shedding and vacuum it off instead. You can imagine how well that went over with Angus. Ben held him while Scott vacuumed, and out of mercy they gave up easily and let him go to run away, looking behind him the whole time.
It reminds me of Matthew. When he was a toddler he too was afraid of the vacuum. No, I didn't put it on his hair and turn it on, but I did try getting him to touch it when it was turned off, while I used high pitched reassuring tones to let him know it was okay. This also reminds me of another Matthew moment.
For his first birthday, he got a lot of cute toys. He was mostly interested in the boxes, but I tried to help him learn to play with what he got. One such item was a Thomas the Tank Engine train with cabooses. As it was pulled, it chugged and whistled. Matthew was freaked out.
I liked this toy, and thought I could help Matthew to conquer his fear like I did the vacuum cleaner. I held Matthew's hand while I pulled the toy. He looked apprehensive and kept darting glances at it. When he seemed calmer I put the string in his hand but he wouldn't pull it. By this time I had a goal. After a few days I was determined to help my son conquer his fear. But how could he, if he never used the toy? So, I tied the string to a button on his pyjamas one night. Then he would see that it isn't scary, and we could make a game of chasing each other around the house with the train in tow.
I took him into the kitchen and switched it on, to the sound of a "choo-choo"! Matthew's eyes went big, and he started moving, to escape the scary thing. As he moved though, it came with him, chasing him. He ended up at a cupboard, hanging onto the knob, trying to climb straight up. Cornered by Thomas. What a sad sight.
I quickly unleashed the grip of terror, laughing the whole time. I don't think he bears any emotional scars of it...I hope he doesn't. Maybe I'll take him on Via Rail sometime just to see.
// posted by Annette @ 7:10 p.m. 