We had a great time, as usual, and each year is a little bit different. The first couple years it was just me and Henry, and we walked back and forth, back and forth between the animal barns. (Because whatever animal we were looking at Henry wanted to see a different one. Until we got there, and then he wanted to go back to the other.)
But each year we have added a guest to our little party (Tommy, Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Christian), and each year we seem to stay a little longer and see one new thing. This year, the new thing was this:
We rode the "sky glide." This was fun and the boys enjoyed it, but I was pretty freaked out that there was nothing strapping us in to this thing. There was one of those bars that comes down over your head, but any child or even a small adult could slide right under that bar and go crashing to the ground below. Dad and Henry were in the car behind us. I turned around once to take their picture and then worried that dad wasn't holding on to Henry. I guess dad had the same thought, because when I turned around again, he was. Phew.
We also saw some piglets, bought some cheap plastic swords and had sword fights, and watched a lot of the horse competitions. With his new interest in horses, I think Henry would have sat in that arena all day long, watching them and listening to the goofy organ music accompaniment.
I will have to post again in a couple days after I get some photos from mom and dad. Most of the ones I took yesterday were from the sky glide.
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Henry has been showing some signs of anxiety lately:
-He's been chewing on his shirt a lot. This is something he's never done before, although he did go through a phase around age 3 where he would chew/suck on his comforter- yuck. When this started, I thought maybe he had a loose tooth or something else strange going on in his mouth. That may have been at the beginning, but now I think it is just an oral habit that will be hard to break.
-He has been asking to sleep in our bed. This is not something Henry has EVER done before. He and Tommy share a room, and when Tommy was a baby and would cry at bedtime, I would sometimes put Henry down in my bed and then move him later. But now he is asking to sleep in our bed every night, and sometimes coming in in the middle of the night (again, NEVER done previously). I have tried asking him why, and he says "I don't like my bed." Tommy has been arguing about wearing his pullup at night, so maybe Henry wants to avoid that conflict...
-Henry has been requesting to watch DVDs (not unusual at all!) But he only watches the previews and the first 15 minutes or so, and then asks to put in a different movie (after the rest of us are interested in this first one!)
We are stumped by these new behaviors, except to wonder if he is feeling excited/anxious about school starting again. His teacher and school will be the same, and we have talked quite a bit about school and he doesn't seem apprehensive at all...
Any thoughts about any of these?
8 comments:
When we went to a local fair this summer with the boys, I was freaking out on the ferris wheel because I guess as I get older I am afraid of heights and nobody was strapped in. I was holding on tight to the boys. I am getting to be a big chicken in my old age.
I am glad you all had a good time and it's so nice how Henry is into horses now. This nice weather we have had the last two days had made me ready for Fall and I am considering signing Andrew up for HIPPO therapy. I think he loves horses, but he is also afraid, so I am not so sure how he would do.
I will NOT ride those skyglide things, for the very reason you stated!! Of course, a fear of heights feeds that anxiety of mine....
Definitely sounds like anxiety to me. Conor had a beautiful baby comforter that he chewed to bits. He also used to chew on his shirts. Lots of lost buttons, lots of holes in shirts.
He also has this beloved hippo that he has chewed so much that now all that is left is the hippo head. Because of the Risperdal, he isn't chewing as much, but I still catch him chewing it on tough days. We had to work HARD to get him to stop chewing on his clothes and to chew on chew tubes or the hippo. Maybe trying to transfer the chewing to an appropriate chew object? There are lots of chew-things that you can get for older kids, to put on the tops of pencils (so it isn't so obvious and "weird"). Let me know if you need a link and I'll look for one for you. I think Abilitations carries them.
So glad to hear that Henry was open to trying some new things at the fair this year.
You're braver than me ... you couldn't pay me to ride one of those skyglide things.
What does Henry say when you talk about starting school? I think I bought some of those chew toys from Abilitations a few years ago.
Hmm, wonder if it's just that Henry is feeling the change in the air; summer winding down (maybe the fair signals to him that change is on the way?), talk of school, Tommy and the pull-ups even. All change.
I think it's very normal for all little kids to regress a bit when they sense change that they aren't sure how to handle. Doesn't mean anything awful...it's just that they don't have another way of dealing with the stress so they revert to old comforting things or habits. Give him time and lots of security and see if that helps.
I tried to punk out of one of those sky glide things at the Bronx Zoo the other day by saying India was scared to go on it which clearly didn't work since she was pointing and jumping and saying "come on! let's go!"
Sal.
I've also found that behaviors can arise in summer just because it is summer and things are less structured, the routine is not there, there is "too much" fun -- free time, lazing around. I've learned to see that behaviors can be a sign of growth, despite everything----for Charlie, it is that he is contemplating new changes and challenges, and the thought can make him nervous.
i would have felt the SAME WAY in that sky ride! i'd have been postively CLUTCHY fluffy the whole time. eeeks!
as to the behaviors, maybe it is anxiety? about the transition to school? even if so much will be the same, it's still a letting go of summer and starting something new. it makes sense to me.
Apart from the fact that you seem to all be having an absolute ball, I can only comment on the chewing bit.
This is a big thing for my six and a half year old. He used to drool a lot [lip closure / concentration] but this is less so nowadays. He's also the one with the limited diet / OCD so I view the chewing in several different lights. For him, it reduces stress [although I prefer it if he chews his clothes rather than his hand/arm because it quickly becomes sore]
I think it also gives him feedback and fights off the anxiety/stress by being comforting.
I work hard on giving him other things to chew on like P sticks and the vibrating chewies as this has the bi-product of reducing his oral sensitivity.
Being physically tired also helps reduce the anxiety [trampolene / swimming]
Don't know if any of that helps, but I just thought I'd throw a few things into the mix.
Best wishes
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