Last spring/summer, Clint and I put in Twister after the kids went to bed. At some point during the movie, Tayson woke up with a mild tummyache, and we allowed him to lie down on the couch by us and finish the movie. Big. Mistake.
That one poor decision sparked an obsessive fear / fascination with tornados that has become exhuasting to Clint and I as we try to battle it. At first, we just thought it was just a fascination, and Tayson would ask repeatedly to watch the movie again or to see more videos of tornados. Clint would happily jump on the internet and look up tornado YouTube videos to show him (another brilliant decision). We soon realized, thanks the nightmares and the tearful tornado-related questions, that it is part fascination, part terror.
We have done our very best to reassure him that he will not be swept away by a tornado, and will probably never even see a real one in his whole life. Doesn't matter. He will still wake up sobbing if there is a storm with any type of measureable wind.
We have even shown him maps (repeatedly) and shown him the part of the country where tornados are common and how far away Utah is from there. Desperate, we told him that tornados DO NOT happen in Utah (I know what you are thinking, and you are all forbidden to ever mention in his presence the huge fatal tornado of Salt Lake or the smaller tornados that happen in Vernal and elsewhere around the state.) Of course, showing him the maps, along with pointing out where all of his relatives live only served to make him more concerned since his cousins live in Tennessee (sorry, guys.)
Tayson is able to somehow turn any image or conversation into a tornado comment or question. Here are some examples:
Tayson: See that funny shape in the clouds? That looks like a tornado!
Mom: It's not a tornado, I promise.
Tayson: But maybe it's a tornado.
Tayson: Mom, I see a tornado!
Mom: No, Tayson. That's just a smokestack.
Tayson: Mom, where does Grampa Piggott work again?
Mom: Algeria. It's another country far far away.
Tayson: Are there tornados there?
Tayson: Why is this movie called Madagascar?
Mom: It's a country.
Tayson: Do they have tornados there?
Mom: Guess what? We get to go to Arizona for Christmas and see Grandma and Grandpa Piggott!
Tayson: Do they have tornados there?
Mom: Your cousins, Sienna and Colby drew your and Brennen's names for Christmas, so they will be giving you Christmas gifts this year.
Tayson: But they live far away, so how will they give me the present?
Mom: They will mail it to you.
Tayson: But what if their mailman gets blown away by a tornado?!
Tayson: I hope I never see a tornado because I really don't want to get spinned around by one.
Conversations like this happen daily. What I wouldn't give to turn back time and either stop that movie when Tayson came out of his room, or just sent him back to bed.
5 comments:
Poor Tayson! And I think kids would pick up on anything to be afraid of! My mom had two houses burn down as a kid, and in simply telling us the story of her childhood, she helped my sister and I develop a ridiculous fear of house fires. I'm still kind of terrified of them. I suppose they are more likely to hit a home in Utah than a tornado, but there wasn't anything she could have done to prevent our fear.
LOL. Poor Tayson. Alyssa is terrified of fires because they had a fire safety lesson in their class. We pray every night (and it has to be these specific words) "that our house will be safe." If we forget them we have to start over. It does actually seem to help. I guess learning to battle fears is just part of growing up. It sure makes it hard to be a parent though!
Oh man, since I'm not living it, its really funny but I'm sorry! I wish I had some good advice for you.
WOW That movie really left a mark! That is hilarious how much it comes up in conversation! He must think about it a lot! Watch it turn into his life-carreer studying tornados. I'll have to remember that next time I have a movie on and little ones wake up!
There aren't tornadoes in AZ. Just tell him to come live here and all will be well.
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