Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Kian and Copper

  My youngest son is scared of animals.  I find this bizarre as the other two have no fear of animals.  They love just about anything out there and will hold/pet/approach anything they're allowed to.  Snakes, frogs, lizards, dogs, horses, sheep, elephants...you name it, they want to pet it.  But not Kian.  Somehow my boy got the fraidy gene.  He likes animals and wants to see them, just not to close.  Until three or so months ago, he was fine.  But one day we were at a friend's house and he let out this blood-curdling scream. I looked over and it was just a cat walking past. Thus began a new phase in our lives: the fear of animals.

 For awhile I resigned myself to his fears and came up with the best way to help him cope.  At Aris' birthday, he took big steps in petting the sheep.  By the end, he was even approaching them on his own.  But when a close friend mentioned she was getting a dog, I was worried.  We often walk home with her or have playdates together.  How would introducing a pet that scared my child change our friendship?  But I should not have worried.

 Kian loves Copper.  In the beginning, Kian expressed a normal amount of trepidation, but he's been eager to greet Copper every school day.  Last week, Kian was very cautious, but by the end of the week he was trying to pet the puppy on his own.  Today Copper climbed onto Kian, licked his legs, arms and face, and put a paw in Kian's face.  Guess what? No crying, screaming or even pouting!  He giggled instead!  I was in shock(the happy type)!  Kian's fear isn't gone as he freaked out yesterday around my SIL's dog, but he's okay with Copper. Yay! I feel much less stressed. :)

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