Frightened by the wind

[sherrardk]

Out for a walk today and it was really windy (but sunny) and one of my children became really quite agitated about it. He didn't say it was because it was so windy (but he behaved the same way last time we were out walking when it was very windy). He just kept saying he wanted to go home (we weren't walking anywhere dangerous) and he was really miserable (we were on the home leg at the time) and after he went to bed he came down three times, crying. Any ideas what could be going on here, the others weren't affected by the wind. Thanks.

[Halifaxmum]

Sounds just like a friend of mine. She was really scared, bordering on terrified, of strong wind - she just could not go outside in it. So much so, if it was blowing a gale, she had to ring in sick - she had been to her GP and our employers were fine with it, as it was a medically-recognised condition!

BTW, she was a hard-working, honest mum and wife - just before anyone says anything!

[Halifaxmum]

Sorry, also meant to say, I'd take him to the doc's and explain all that happened - they should be able to advise. Hope this helps x

[ChuckFickens]

How old is he? but as it's a hobby of mine... How about getting a little kite for him and taking him out when it's a little windy and making the wind a fun thing rather than something to be scared of.

[sherrardk]

It's just really odd, he's seven years old and we must have been out when it was windy before this. The previous incident was about four weeks ago.

[TonyV]

stunt kites are good fun - but will be very windy this week - amber advisory posted

[Buenchico]

Perhaps your son was a cat in a previous life? Cats hate wind, as it blocks the sounds, smells and sensations that they use to find their way around. My cat will not usually (unlike any other cat that I've had) curl on on my bed alongside me but this morning (with the wind blowing a gale outside) she jumped up on the bed and curled up on top of me.

While my previous paragraph is,of course, light-hearted, there's actually a serious point in it. People feel anxious and unwell if they're deprived of the sensations which reassure their brain that everything is 'normal'. That's why people suffer from motion sickness or get tensed up when watching a horror movie. It seems that something in your son's brain was telling him that there was cause for anxiety.

While fear of the wind is a recognised phobia
http://common-phobias.com/ancrao/phobia.htm
your son's problem is probably nothing more than a phase which he'll quickly grow out of. (I'd endorse Chuck's suggestion though, of showing him that the wind can be both fun and exciting. That will probably accelerate the 'growing out of it').

Chris

[imhotep]

I just had to read Buenchico's comment before heading for my bed.
What a gent he is ehhh folks!!
Now that's what I call amazing feedback on this matter. Well done Buenchico!
I must admit, I was down on the sea front today,and the wind was blowing like mad.
I didn't stay for long I can tell you,as it wasn't that nice.
But, I did enjoy the drive down though.

[karenmac60]

That's funny Chris - all my cats have loved the wind, they see, to think it's playtime if it's windy and go nuts (but not as though they are scared, just like it's a great game). My dog on the other hand , is petrified - but only if he is indoors. He will quite happily sit on the veranda in a blowing gale but if you bring him inside he shakes and drools.
Sherr - is there a chance he has caught the wind full in the face recently? I remember that horrible feeling of not being able to breathe in really strong winds when I was young and I found it quite scary - I think I thought I would suffocate. Maybe if this has happened recently he is worried about it happening again.

[boxtops]

I still worry about it blowing me over, do you think he's felt like that?

[ladybirder]

Karen my cat is the same she loves the wind. She races forward, stops dead, leaps in the air and repeats over and over again.

[karenmac60]

I swear mine can see it - they run between windows like they are chasing it LB :)

[Old_Geezer]

Not that I'm any expert but I'd suspect he is just reacting to what he sees as an abnormal situation. A belief that he ought not be buffeted about like this, it's just not right. I'd except him to come to terms with it in time. Especially if no fuss is made of it. The kite idea may be useful to indicate it is a rare opportunity to enjoy something.

[hellywelly4]

Children can become terrified of something for no obvious reason to adults, I assume you have asked him what the problem is about the wind? Sometimes just to talk about the fear makes it go (as in my case many years ago). Perhaps he has seen something on the TV - tornadoes or hurricanes - and is afraid of the same thing happening here, and hasn't understood all the reasons for them.
You are obviously a caring parent, I hope he 'gets over it' soon.

[sherrardk]

I've had a further chat with him and he had forgotten all about it. Will have to see if it affects him next we are out in windy weather. Thanks for all your replies.

[mike11111]

I must admit that I do not like strong winds, although I am not paranoid about it. It is probably more to do with age and the problems struggling against a gale and catching one's breath. When I was a teacher I found that on really windy days it was always more difficult to control the children, even indoors.

[sherrardk]

Nothing worse than a windy break time - taught at on school on the side of the Dunstable Downs for 13 years so we had more than our fair share of them.

[wheaten]

I hate the wind too. I can do any other weather, love thunder and lightning but puff up in the sun! Mum was a teacher and said her classroom pupils were 'high as kites' (sorry!) on a windy day. Mind you, they also ran to look out off the window when a plane went past!
Wheaten

[DTCwordfan]

Wait until you are splat in middle of a hurricane - that is not fun wind.

[mike11111]

I'm pleased that others can corroborate my experience of children's behaviour on windy days. At first I thought that it was just an urban myth.