Water Phobia

My son has a strange water phobia. He hates having water squirted at him, poured over him, or sprinkled on him in any way. I tried to give him a shower instead of a bath once, and he screamed and cried through the entire ordeal. Today was water play day at daycare, and as soon as he saw the bathing suit I had laid out for him, he started whining, “I don’t want to go to water play.” I assured him that he didn’t have to go in the sprinklers and it was okay to just wear the bathing suit to school. He eyed me with the suspicion of a boy who’s accustomed to his mother sneaking vegetables into his food.

He’s also terrified of swimming. Last year I enrolled him in a Mom and Baby swimming class. He sobbed his way through the first three classes, arms locked around my neck in a death-grip. By lesson #4, he started to relax, and during the last two lessons, he eagerly enjoyed them. I want to enroll him in swimming again, just to help him lose the fear of water. And yet, I have a feeling that there is no way he’ll go for it.

Do your children have any fears? How have you helped them overcome those?

P.S.–in another funny moment, a stranger complimented him on his Superman cape and shirt, saying, “I like your shirt.”
My son: “Yes, I’m sure you do.” :confused2: