Overcoming a Fear of the Easter Bunny

posted by Romy (@daddontlie)

Overcoming a Fear of the Easter Bunny

Sometimes it takes a few visits.

An oversized bunny can be pretty scary.

When we took my son to see the Easter Bunny over the past weekend, he was pretty stoked. He saw an Easter Bunny for the first time wandering around at a grocery store the previous week. So we decided to take him to the mall so he could meet this Easter Bunny once more and get up close and personal. We all got in line, dished out seven dollars so we could get a picture with him and we watched the Easter Bunny from afar as we waited in line. There was a lot of anticipation and excitement as we waited patiently . 

Finally, it was our turn. 

My son Kyrie stood there in amazement. The Easter Bunny was right there in front of him.

We began to walk up to seat him beside the Easter Bunny, and then....there was a frightened look. Followed up with some tears. Followed up with some screaming. He was scared.

We pulled him away for a bit and let other kids take turns with the Easter Bunny and showed him how he wasn't so scary and other kids were doing OK. We decided to get in line again. This time we all went up but he was still scared. Intent on not to holding up the line any more, we all got on the Easter Bunny's throne and had our picture taken with Kyrie (who was still looking a bit scared).

I guess sometimes we take things for granted as parents. The Easter Bunny doesn't look so frightening, but to a 20-month old, a 6-foot tall Easter Bunny can be pretty intimidating.

So we went back to the mall and did our shopping and then out of the blue, my son began calling "Bunny....bunny." I asked him if he wanted to go back to see the Easter Bunny. He nodded yes.

Back we went. Kyrie and I made our way back to the Easter Bunny while my wife continued to shop. We got back in the line and watched with anticipation all over again. I got on my knee and asked him "Are you going to go up to the Bunny by yourself?" He nodded in agreement. The lineup moved again and I questioned him one more time "Are you sure you'll be be able to go to the Bunny on our own?" He again nodded in agreement. I was a proud father knowing that my son had overcome his fear of the Easter Bunny.

One more time, it was our turn.

I took him to the Easter Bunny. He started to walk up and he stopped in tracks and nodded his head "No." He wasn't ready yet. So again we walked away, back to the store to find my wife.

Once he saw her, he grabbed her hand and said "Bunny."

Third time's a charm, right?

Back in the lineup we went. He had the picture with the three of us and the Easter Bunny in hand, with the intent to show it to the bunny. We asked him again "Will you go up to see the East Bunny on your own?" And once again, he nodded in agreement.

As soon as it was our turn, Kyrie left us and walked on his own to the Easter Bunny and didn't look back. He got up on the chair with the Easter Bunny and showed him the picture with the both of them. He spent a good 3-4 minutes sitting there with him and we pretty much had to pull him away at that point. It only took three trips for him to garner up that courage.

It was a proud moment for myself as a parent. Watching my son overcome his fear on his own was pretty special. I know there will be plenty of moments where I'll see that scared look on his face again, but I'll be able to remind him of this experience to help him gain confidence to face his fears. Even if it takes a couple...or three....or four...attempts.

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Romy is a dad, husband and blogger based out of Halifax.  He also writes about hoops too at HipHoopJunkies.com.  For dirty diaper stories,  follow him on Twitter @DadDontLie and for hoops talk, follow @RomyAquino