My dd is scared of stink bugs
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Anonymous
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How can I help dd here? She just turned 10. A couple of nights ago, a stink bug crawled on her in her bed while she was trying to go to sleep. She is very frightened of stink bugs. I let her sleep with me that night. Last night, she got in bed, but looked extremely worried - sitting up and not lying down. So again, I said ok why don't you sleep with younger dd. Well older dd kept waking up all night long, getting out a flashlight to look for stink bugs, and then insisted she saw one on younger dd. So I moved them both out of that bedroom, and we settled down to sleep in our king bed for the night. 10 year old dd still had a lot of trouble sleeping, and when I woke her up this morning, she said yes glad to finally get up.
I plan on looking very carefully for stink bugs, and we always tell her how harmless they are. But for some reason, she has an irrational fear of stink bugs. We really don't have that many, just one or two here and there. Any helpful hints? |
Anonymous
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I hate 'me too. Freaky, prehistoric looking monsters!
My DD freaks out every time she sees one too. She is 6. Mostly we must try to calm her down, one of us catches the bug in a tissue and she does love to flush them away! |
Anonymous
| I'm with DD. They are creepy and awful. |
Anonymous
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Nobody likes them, OP. Your mistake was that you allowed her to sleep elsewhere, and now it will be even harder for her to surmount her fear of them. You validated her fear, but not in the right way. |
Anonymous
| Wish I could help but I'm just like your DD. I'm 38 and I'm afraid of them too. |
Anonymous
This is OP, and I'm not sorry that I did let her sleep elsewhere. My child was very scared, it was past bedtime, and I did what I had to so that we could all get to bed as quickly as possible. I guess we will just go slowly, and maybe her fear will lessen. I read a blog that said I should show her how to dispatch them, and that will make her feel empowered. Not sure that will work though. |
Anonymous
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OP, I'm scared of them too, and I'm 40!! I don't think you made a mistake in letting her sleep with you at all. You're a parent, and you're supposed to make sure she feels safe.
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Anonymous
Have her repeat this ten times, then go to sleep in her own bed: “I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.” |
Anonymous
It's your life, OP 
But, you've just lengthened the road ahead of you. And no, I don't agree with dispatching them in front of her. Why would you do that? We shoo them away and out of the house. DH picks them up in a hankie and puts them outside. Having no fear means also humane treatment, not flushing bugs down the toilet. Sigh. You're thinking all the wrong things. |
Anonymous
| I'm deathly afraid of stink bugs and spiders. My 8 yo helps get them out of the house or I can't sleep. Fear is real. |
Anonymous
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Is there something herbal you can put in her room that might repel them from visiting?
Surely this is going to be the easiest solution without having to go down psychological roads? |
Anonymous
| I think you should do a vacuum and caulk around her windows. Then I'd give her a spray bottle with just water in it, but tell her it's bug spray to allay her fears and give her a sense of control in case she spots one. |
Anonymous
| I'm 40 and scared of stink bugs. |
Anonymous
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OP, I'm with your daughter.
A few stink bugs here and there? Crawling on her at night? I would be horrified, and I'm an adult. Get an exterminator, for crying out loud! Deep cleaning. Caulk all around the house. Until your house is bug free, let your DDs sleep wherever they can, I sure couldn't. Good luck! |
Anonymous
| Drama queens. |