Rollercoaster - HELP
Rollercoaster - HELP
HI
I wonder if you can help me.
My little boy is 9 years old and we are going on holiday to Florida next week. :yay:
The thing is he says that he is terrified of rollercoaster’s, I would love him to try one but he says that he will not go on them. The thing is the woman who looks after him while I am at work, has been telling him how terrified she is of rollercoaster’s and I think that he is listening to her and fearing the worse. He takes in a lot of what she says.
I really want him to go on them as this is a family holiday and with only my OH, my son and myself going away, means that even my OH and I won’t be able to go on the rides together (we will have to queue up and take turns to wait with our son). Any time that I try and convince him that he will enjoy them it ends in tears. I would love some photos & memories etc of us all on the rides.
Any suggestions? Or should I just accept that he does not want to go on them and deal with it.
Answers:
I think you're making too big a deal out of it, and it is preying on his mind and becoming a huge issue.
I was petrified of fairground rides when I was young and the more people tried to persuade me to go on them, the more tearful and uptight I would become.
During one visit to a UK theme park my friends all went on one particular ride which I was too scared to take. When they all got off and queued to go straight back on, I realised I must be missing something really special, gave it a try and loved it. But it was something I had to find out for myself without any outside pressure.
IMHO there should be no more talk, AT ALL, of rollercoasters in your house. It is becoming a huge issue for your son. Act as if the matter has been completely forgotten and focus on the other fun things to take his mind completely off the whole rollercoaster subject. Go to Florida for the sheer enjoyment of taking a holiday. There are plenty of attractions your son will enjoy without having to feel afraid, and you'll probably find he'll work his way up towards the more white-knuckle rides of his own accord once he feels confident on the smaller rides, and once he sees other children his age taking part in these attractions. Boys generally don't like to lose face in front of other boys!
Forcing the issue is going to leave him traumatised and miserable, and he is very young to be facing that kind of thing. You're just going to have to face up to the fact that if you and your OH want to take the scarier rides, you're going to have to take it in turns.
What concerns me most about your post is not that you say, "I really want him to WANT to go on one," but "I really want him to go on one". It's what HE wants that matters.
Answers:
Hi vmax
Thanks for your reply.
First of all I didn't want to sound like a pushy mother :o , sorry if thats how this might have come across.
When I say that I want him to take the rides, I mean that I would love him to go on them and share the experience with me, I want him to have the best holiday that he possibly can and know that if he gave it a go he would love them. But then again I realise that no-one will enjoy the holiday (especially him) if we force the issue and I am the last person in the world that would want to upset him.
I also mentioned about the queues because I don't want to put him through all the waiting around that he will have to do if me and my OH go on the rides that we want, as you know, no-one likes queues and they are worse if you are 9 years old.
I only want him to have a fantastic time and experience all that he can, but I suppose that the best thing that I can do is let him make up his own mind and go along with it. But I will focus on the other things and when we go to the parks act like its just my OH and myself that want to go on the rides, and if he says he wants to also he can, if he does not mention it, then fine.
I was worried about making an issue of it and I have started to talk to him about other things that we can do on holiday, like Gatrorland, Kennedy Space Centre and so on.
Thanks again vmax, I think that you hit the nail on the head with what you said and I appreciate your advice.
Cheers
Answers:
IMHO there should be no more talk, AT ALL, of rollercoasters in your house. It is becoming a huge issue for your son. Act as if the matter has been completely forgotten and focus on the other fun things to take his mind completely off the whole rollercoaster subject. Go to Florida for the sheer enjoyment of taking a holiday. There are plenty of attractions your son will enjoy without having to feel afraid, and you'll probably find he'll work his way up towards the more white-knuckle rides of his own accord once he feels confident on the smaller rides, and once he sees other children his age taking part in these attractions. Boys generally don't like to lose face in front of other boys!
.
Totally agree. Just forget about the roller coasters and see how he is once he gets there. He may see them and think they ain't too bad. Besides they have loads of water rides there that are every bit as much fun as the roller coasters.
Answers:
Re: Rollercoaster - HELP
Any suggestions? Or should I just accept that he does not want to go on them and deal with it.
As someone who hates rollercoasters with a passion (I've been once and as far as I'm concerned it was once too many) I'd advise you to do just that.
We don't all like the same things, and what's fun for one person may be a nightmare for another.
HI
I wonder if you can help me.
My little boy is 9 years old and we are going on holiday to Florida next week. :yay:
The thing is he says that he is terrified of rollercoaster’s, I would love him to try one but he says that he will not go on them. The thing is the woman who looks after him while I am at work, has been telling him how terrified she is of rollercoaster’s and I think that he is listening to her and fearing the worse. He takes in a lot of what she says.
I really want him to go on them as this is a family holiday and with only my OH, my son and myself going away, means that even my OH and I won’t be able to go on the rides together (we will have to queue up and take turns to wait with our son). Any time that I try and convince him that he will enjoy them it ends in tears. I would love some photos & memories etc of us all on the rides.
Any suggestions? Or should I just accept that he does not want to go on them and deal with it.
Answers:
I think you're making too big a deal out of it, and it is preying on his mind and becoming a huge issue.
I was petrified of fairground rides when I was young and the more people tried to persuade me to go on them, the more tearful and uptight I would become.
During one visit to a UK theme park my friends all went on one particular ride which I was too scared to take. When they all got off and queued to go straight back on, I realised I must be missing something really special, gave it a try and loved it. But it was something I had to find out for myself without any outside pressure.
IMHO there should be no more talk, AT ALL, of rollercoasters in your house. It is becoming a huge issue for your son. Act as if the matter has been completely forgotten and focus on the other fun things to take his mind completely off the whole rollercoaster subject. Go to Florida for the sheer enjoyment of taking a holiday. There are plenty of attractions your son will enjoy without having to feel afraid, and you'll probably find he'll work his way up towards the more white-knuckle rides of his own accord once he feels confident on the smaller rides, and once he sees other children his age taking part in these attractions. Boys generally don't like to lose face in front of other boys!
Forcing the issue is going to leave him traumatised and miserable, and he is very young to be facing that kind of thing. You're just going to have to face up to the fact that if you and your OH want to take the scarier rides, you're going to have to take it in turns.
What concerns me most about your post is not that you say, "I really want him to WANT to go on one," but "I really want him to go on one". It's what HE wants that matters.
Answers:
Hi vmax
Thanks for your reply.
First of all I didn't want to sound like a pushy mother :o , sorry if thats how this might have come across.
When I say that I want him to take the rides, I mean that I would love him to go on them and share the experience with me, I want him to have the best holiday that he possibly can and know that if he gave it a go he would love them. But then again I realise that no-one will enjoy the holiday (especially him) if we force the issue and I am the last person in the world that would want to upset him.
I also mentioned about the queues because I don't want to put him through all the waiting around that he will have to do if me and my OH go on the rides that we want, as you know, no-one likes queues and they are worse if you are 9 years old.
I only want him to have a fantastic time and experience all that he can, but I suppose that the best thing that I can do is let him make up his own mind and go along with it. But I will focus on the other things and when we go to the parks act like its just my OH and myself that want to go on the rides, and if he says he wants to also he can, if he does not mention it, then fine.
I was worried about making an issue of it and I have started to talk to him about other things that we can do on holiday, like Gatrorland, Kennedy Space Centre and so on.
Thanks again vmax, I think that you hit the nail on the head with what you said and I appreciate your advice.
Cheers
Answers:
IMHO there should be no more talk, AT ALL, of rollercoasters in your house. It is becoming a huge issue for your son. Act as if the matter has been completely forgotten and focus on the other fun things to take his mind completely off the whole rollercoaster subject. Go to Florida for the sheer enjoyment of taking a holiday. There are plenty of attractions your son will enjoy without having to feel afraid, and you'll probably find he'll work his way up towards the more white-knuckle rides of his own accord once he feels confident on the smaller rides, and once he sees other children his age taking part in these attractions. Boys generally don't like to lose face in front of other boys!
.
Totally agree. Just forget about the roller coasters and see how he is once he gets there. He may see them and think they ain't too bad. Besides they have loads of water rides there that are every bit as much fun as the roller coasters.
Answers:
Re: Rollercoaster - HELP
Any suggestions? Or should I just accept that he does not want to go on them and deal with it.
As someone who hates rollercoasters with a passion (I've been once and as far as I'm concerned it was once too many) I'd advise you to do just that.
We don't all like the same things, and what's fun for one person may be a nightmare for another.