A Couple weeks ago, my son, Alan, and his family came to visit us from NY. My daughter in law is a teacher in NY and came to Chicago for a teaching program. My son needed to work for a few days while he stayed here, so Henry and I were happy to take care of 1-year-old Joshua!
We all know a 16 month old is cute and precious; they imitate everything we do and bring so much joy into our hearts. I’ve been told that the best part of being a grandparent is to spoil your grandchildren and hold no responsibilities - so that’s exactly what I do! Alan was upset and worried because of the routine training he was teaching Joshua, but I told him not worry about it. :)
Every grandparent sees their own grandchildren as the most beautiful gifts ever created. My grandson is no exception and he differs from many kids I come across. Not only is he cute and gentle, but his observing abilities are completely outstanding! He would imitate everything I did perfectly with detail.
Unfortunately, during this visit, I discovered he fears loud noises. For example, whenever I sprayed water from our hose in the backyard or a large truck came racing down the street, he would get scared. I felt horrible, and I wanted to help him overcome this fear.
When these issues arose, I would ask him where his favorite toy is. He would then run to the living room and point to it. I tried this many times, in hopes that taking his attention out of his fear to focus on the things he liked would help. Eventually, he overcame his fear because on July 4th weekend we took him to see the fireworks and the noise did not bother him at all. Hooray!
I love him so much.
I also took him to the park every morning, and he enjoyed the swing sets. Joshua was scared of some of the other park offerings, like the Merry-Go-Round. I held him up and sat with him on the edge of the merry go round, and my husband pushed it without him knowing it and after couple of round he loved it. Later on, he rode by himself with out guidance and he did not want to get off.
I watered my flowers after we came home from the playground. Joshua would get scared from the spray of the water and stayed away. I wanted him to overcome this, so I sprayed the water on my feet and he would stay away; but after I sprayed my feet many times, he was curious, then I sprayed water on his little feet from a distance and after a couple times, he began to enjoy it. I then took a bucket filled with water for him to play, and when the water splashed in the bucket, he began to laugh and have fun! He played and played for hours and seemed no longer afraid of louder noises.
I am so happy that I was able to help Joshua overcome his fear and I can’t wait to see him again!!