Chrissy and the Mole Cricket

For kids of all ages, there is a special interest in animals. Some kids adore them, wanting to hug and squeeze the life out of them. Some want to keep them in their pockets to look at later, and there are those whose reaction to animals is fear. Often these reactions are the result of experiences that happen when the child is small. For instance, any kid who is frightened by a dog, will most likely be scared of dogs for most of their adolescence. If this is not dealt with, the behavior can carry on into adult life. Let's face it, all of us have at least one animal we don't want to be around. Mine just happens to be snakes.


As an adult, I know this fear is irrational. I know I could easily work through it, if I wanted to, but let's face it, I really don't want too. Knowing that, I can understand why children have a tough time learning to overcome fear. For them, fear is a self-defense mechanism. For me, it is s darn good excuse to avoid snakes.

I recently had the pleasure of chatting with a friend who we will call Chrissy who was eagerly telling me about one of her husband phobia's (newlyweds!). He had been riding a horse with a buddy of his when he was 10 years old. Both he and his buddy were thrown from the horse, and he landed on a fence. Chrissy claims that, "to this day, he won't go near a horse..." When I talked to him about it, he said, "Well yeah, but I don't like snakes either." (Guess whose side I was on...)

To her credit, Chrissy did tell me about a phobia I had a healthy respect for. She told me of waking up one night to find a mole cricket sitting on her pillow touching her face with its feelers. "It scared me to death! I knocked it off the pillow and jumped up squealing..." Hey, I happened to think this is a legitimate phobia. And men, if you don't agree, I suggest you watch the movie 'Arachnophobia' by yourself one night in a dark house.

Slowly building up an exposure to the animal/bug is usually the cure. Start with pictures and information (like the encyclopedia), and work your way up to the real thing. This could take anywhere from two weeks, to two years. Just take your time and the phobia will work itself out.

As for children, help them to see the animal/bug in a positive, friendly way, and bring them into multiple contacts with the animal. For instance, if they see that not all dogs are mean, or not all birds bite, they will lose part of their fear naturally. Do remember that you can never force a child (or an adult) into contact with an animal that they're afraid of, it only makes the fear worse. For instance, I went about trying to cure myself of 'snake-a-phobia' the wrong way, and I ended up getting bit, so now I really have a good reason for hating them...