In terms of my list, I think this would be filed under “Oddities
to Figure Out.”
We just returned from a trip with the kiddo. I have to say,
she is a great little traveler, enjoys counting down to “blast off,”
thinks turbulence is fun. We have two laptops loaded with her favorite shows,
new mini-canisters of Play-Doh, never-ending supply of
snacks, and 83 sheets of
stickers. How could she not love a plane ride?
What occurred was definitely something I didn’t see coming.
To say I was surprised would be wrong. More like blindsided, taken off guard,
bushwhacked. —
My child has a fear of airplane bathrooms.
Now, I have piles of fears: the classic fear of heights, the
constant hypochondria-OCD combo, the well-documented avoidance of playground sandboxes.
But my daughter is a calm, cool, comfortable-in-almost-every-situation
kind of kid (she gets that from her dad).
This trip was her first one as a potty-trained “big girl.” She
was fine walking down the aisle. Excited to use the plane potty. Waved at
passengers as we made our way toward the back.
I pushed the bathroom door open.
She stepped inside.
And she screamed.
It was if I was Anthony Perkins and she was a showering Janet
Leigh, as if I was King Kong and she was Fay Wray, as if I was the DVR that
cutoff the last five minutes of the finale of “Lost” and she was, well, me.
Somehow, I got my sobbing child back to our seats, passing a
flight attendant who I believe counted Tessa’s limbs, as a severed arm could be
the only cause of this level of screaming. Seven more trips to the bathroom
were attempted – with the special pink princess seat, with a Dora seat cover,
me taking her, my husband taking her, and three different bribes (the no-fail “you
can have unlimited amounts of whipped cream” failed). The screams lessened, but
tears continued and we stopped trying.
She didn’t have an accident and if even if she had, of
course, it wouldn’t be tragic. It was a short flight, and we aren’t planning a
trip to Australia anytime soon. But I am still thinking about it. I wonder how
long will this fear last? Will this fear extinguish her wanderlust?
Anyone out there have advice? Have any of you encountered this…if so, what did you do?
