Dinosaurs and... State Capitols?

[lydamorehouse]

Okay, so I know that American kids seem to naturally go through a dinosaur phase, where they suddenly memorize (and pronounce!) every kind of dinosaur known to paleontologists.  Mason has completely gone into that phase.  We have dinosaur books, flash cards, encyclopedias, concertos, and coloring books.  Tyrannosaur is, of course, a big favorite.

 

But, here’s where my boy gets weird…. Lately, his obsession is states and state capitols.  Okay, we may have encouraged this by accident because we have one of those gigantic National Geographic maps of the United States pinned on the wall next to his top bunk.  Also, he and I have been playing a game where we try to spot license plates from around the US (see Other Me’s blog for details.)  However, he now pours over his map at night, begging us to show him where each state’s capitol is.  He also has a couple of puzzles that he insisted we buy (and what parent can say no to something so educational?) that show all the states, and, in one case, speaks the state capitols (yes, a talking puzzle.)

 

I also know that kids go through a phase where they’re afraid of the dark.  Mason is also there right now, and is generally so afraid of being left alone that I’ve been trying to force him to imprint on a stuffed animal.  I mean, yesterday it was so bad that when we were all grocery shopping and Shawn would go around the corner to the next aisle without us, Mason would burst into tears and start the classic, “Where’s my mommy!?  I want my mommy!”  Anyway, to combat this I’ve tried a number of things all of which, so far, have had limited success. 

 

First, the stuffed toy.  Since he’s been reading Calvin and Hobbes, I tried to show him that Calvin isn’t afraid of being alone because he always has his stuffed tiger.  We have a stuffed tiger, one my mother made for him, actually.  But, he fails to remember to bring the tiger with him, and he also told me that Hobbes is too friendly, and thus is no good at scaring away monsters.  So, I’ve tried the stuffed great white shark he has (courtesy our friends Ger and Barb) and that seems to work a bit better.

 

The other thing I tried in desperation has had some odd unintentional side-effects.  I tried to tell him that there was nothing to be afraid of when he’s alone because the Goddess is always with him.  I told him that when he’s scared he can talk to the Goddess.  Good idea, right?  Sure, except now he wants *me* to interact with him in character as the Goddess (talk about your pressure!)  This was especially strange this morning when Shawn was trying to get him dressed and he said, “No, I need to talk to the Goddess,” and I said, “You can talk to the Goddess inside Mama.  The Goddess is in everyone.”  “NO,” he wailed.  “I need Ima-Goddess!”

 

Weird.

 

The therapy bills are going to be astronomical.

Comments

[lydamorehouse]

Yeah, although, like I said, at least SOMEONE calls me goddess! :-)