Claustrophobia in a Toddler??? Can It Be???

P.......isn't sad when they're so scared and you feel helpless? My son had a fear of elevators as well. Unfortunatley, he had no choice but to in them with them for a short period of time. He adjusted rather quickly and now LOVES the one in our mall since it has glass. I would guess it is a normal phase. I hope it passes quickly for you both!

My son also had fear of elevators. The best way in my opinion to overcome any fear is gentle exposure. If you feed the fear then it will become worse and also lead to other fears. My mother suffered from agoraphobia (fear of leaving the house) at one point I starting exhibiting the same symptoms. I pushed and pushed myself and also had help from my husband to work through it. My point is yes mental illness as well as any physical illness can be hereditary, however I believe certain fears can be overcome. In anything I have read about fears (and I have read alot) is the most successful therapy is done through repeated exposure, not avoidance. I know it is difficult to watch your child suffer but if you can just hold her tight and talk her through it with gentle words. Each time you expose her and she sees that nothing negative will happen to her you will empower her to face her fears on her own. This is such an important subject to me because I saw first hand how crippling fear can be and I did anything in my power to not pass on that legacy to my kids. I always feared what happened to my mom would be passed on to me or my kids. I also own a daycare center and I once had a little girl who was terrified of heights. She would try so hard to get on the slide and would shake and freak out each time and we would have to get her down. It broke my heart so I would go first and show her there was nothing to be afraid of. After a day or two she allowed me to put her on my lap hold her and go down. The next day she was doing it all by herself and having a blast. She trusted me enough to know it would be okay and overcame her fear. It was such a wonderful thing to see her enjoy herself and not be tortured by wanting to do it so badly. Her mom was amazed and prior to that she would just say "OH, She won't do that she is afraid of heights." With love, and support you can help your daughter through her fears and she does not have to be like your father-in-law. Children most times learn from our behavior. If we are afraid of bugs and they see us run then they will be afraid of bugs. Try not to worry and make a big deal of it just talk her through and be there and she will be fine. Certain fears are realistic and everyone has them. I am not afraid of elevators but I don't enjoy going in them. I am terrified to fly in a plane (so I don't fly) but so are millions of others so to me it is a realistic fear. Good luck I hope this helps.

Hey Momma,

I think its just her age but you never know.

luckily you know about his family ahead of time.

I suggest try to introduce her to and expose her to various ways she might feel clausterphobic,

LIKE try covering her head with a blanket. both of you get under and make the experience fun for her. use a flash light.

Then graduate to building a fun fort out of the sofa cushions, and cover her it with blankets.

GO inside and make it fun for her.
putting her doll house inside it and make like a mini home.

then have and indoor CAMP OUT. during the day, and then again at night. OUTSIDE.
and make it fun.

Afterwards try adn find a BIG BOX
( like a refridgerator box)

Cut FLAPS not holes. For her to peek out of, and make it fun for her.

And last is playing hide and seek in the closet.
this works best with an older sibling or cousin, or friend.
( such as a 9 year old neighbor)

Start with cleaning out the bottom of the closet so she can easily fit with room. and tehn laugh when you find her.

Do it daily and she will enjoy it.

and you can SLOWLY fill it back up with things, making it smaller. but slwoly so she gets used to the smaller space gradually. and doesn't realize.

Closet then try it with a diffrent closet.
that is only halfway empty.

And then try riding an elevator with music.
and NO PEOPLE>

pretend your going for a ride,
and LIFT her up in your arms before she asks you to.
and just walk in there real calmly, and only go up one floor. and get off real quick. and continue to hold her in your arms till you round the corner and the elevator is no longer in sight.

do this everyday for a week till she gets used to it.

then the following week try walking onto the elevator without lifting her. and see what happens.

IF she is fine then you know she is Fine.

If not then keep bringing her onto the elevator everyday till she is fine.

Good luck

M

i dont know about it being hereditary, i suppose it could be, but really, before you go down that road i would just treat it as a phase for now. toddlers do stuff like that, she can just as easily decide she is terrified of masks, like my niece, or vaccum cleaners like my nephew, or dogs like half the kids i know. my advice is to respect the fear, its real, but dont feed into it. gentle exposure like that other mom said, and distraction, and downplay it (without mocking, of course). dont make a big deal about bringing her into the elevator, and dont make a big deal about it when she cant deal with it. try to bring her in with a light mood and lots of support and distraction, and if she cant deal, just shrug and say ok, well take the stairs today, we can try again another day, light hearted, you know? most likely one day she will just go in without realizing it because something else is keeping her attention, or following an older friend in, that kind of thing, or just forget she was scared altogether, most of these things do pass. dont treat it like a problem, or talk to others about her "problem" in front of her. good luck.