How to Effectively Traumatize Your Child

Tonight, a local park very close to our house had a big fireworks show. With the location, we were thinking that we'd probably be able to see it all right from our driveway. So, about five minutes before show time we got Emma out of bed. Mike was reluctant, because it was hot out, and we weren't even sure we'd be able to see them. But I think he saw my excitement, saw how much I wanted to do this as a family, and gave me the green light to go get her. So, we got her out of bed and went out into the driveway. We saw a few other families camped out, so we felt pretty confident that our driveway would be a good place to set up chairs and get comfy. So, we did. We were trying to explain to Emma what we were doing, and told her she'd hear a big BOOM and then see lights. We got her saying "BOOM BOOM", and she was generally pretty happy. Here she is with Daddy waiting for the show to start. The squinty faces are a result of the pre-flash, which was insanely bright, given the fact that it was pretty much pitch black out.

And then the first boom. She didn't even see the light, just heard the boom. Instantly we heard a small shriek, and in a nano second she had covered her face with her hands and buried her face in Mike's chest. She was shaking like a leaf. We both tried to coax her out of the fetal position, encouraging her to look at the lights. But she wouldn't budge. She wasn't crying or screaming, and she didn't have her binky. She was just breathing really fast, and shaking. After about a minute, Mike handed her over to me thinking that maybe in the transfer she'd see some of the lights and get into the fireworks. But even as we moved her from him to me, she wouldn't pick up her head, or take her hands off her eyes. Or stop shaking. So I was just there holding her, and after just a few seconds, decided to take her back inside. When she heard me say that, I think she was relieved, because she looked up for a few seconds, kind of to see if I was being for real. However, when she looked up at me, it was with her hands still over her eyes, with her fingers just barely split open so she could see through them. I think she caught sight of the lights, but still wasn't thrilled. So, in we went. LUCKILY, the fireworks were perfectly located so that we could sit on the couch in our living room and look out the front window and see them. If you look closely, you can see Emma and I through the window. Emma sat with me for a few minutes, but I think she was looking for Protector Man, because she spent the rest of the fireworks like this. I would like to note that she continued to shake pretty much until the show was over.

When the show was over, Emma stood up Mike's lap and said, "GONE! YEAHHHHHH!"

And that pretty much sums it up.