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My grandson is scared of anything that he sees. Flies, cockroaches, spiders. What can I do?


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  • You say your grandson is scared for anything he sees and mention in specific bugs. Is he scared of anything else than bugs ? You don’t mention is age, but I would educate him about bugs, what they do and don’t do. Maybe go to the library and find some insect books or maybe even a dvd


  • Depending on how old he is. Talk to him about why he is scared of them. What about them makes him scared. Is it their sound? what they look like? that they may bite? etc and then talk him through why it is scaring him. Re: butterflies – maybe its the wings. Focus on the colours and how beautiful they are.
    Spiders – being scared is natural but why?


  • Read some books to him with these animals in it. E.g. bee movie .ants etc he may then see them as not so scary and fun and interesting animals


  • Buy him a bug catcher and have fun catching lady bugs etc . He can have a close up look before releasing.


  • My daughter at the age of 2 up until 4 was so afraid of the Garbage Truck especially when they picked up the bins and then slammed them down she would cry and hide


  • Finding out why he’s scared and teach him about them to help him not be scared


  • Sorry he is 7. The other night his sister ( 5) put the bedroom light on and he screamed “ I don’t want the light on”. He is good otherwise but scared of anything he sees.


  • Kids can be scared of lots of different things. If concerned maybe seek some support.


  • Maybe watch some movies, or make some craft , read a books about those.


  • Before getting advice on a forum like this, I think you need to provide a few more details. How old is he, is it all the time or just when visiting family members, has he had any experiences with these bugs that would make him act this way?


  • It’s not an uncommon fear. My 8 yo is also scared of insects, but flying ones in particular. Gentle exposure and education has helped. Our library had a workshop on native bees on holiday period, and we went to our local wildlife discovery Centre last holidays to learn more about insects. The Centre looked at tiny bugs under a microscope and even had some big stick insects on display, and my child wanted to hold them by the end of the session. She’s still scared when something suddenly appears, but she’s more interested now and quicker to calm down. She even looks out for dragonflies at school and tells me about them at pick up time. So perhaps that’s an option. Check what’s on are your library or local community Centre, etc, or maybe just get some books out and read about these things together.


  • So many questions. How old is he? Why is he scared? How is he scared? Education helps in reducing fear, as does exposure.


  • What does he do to show that he is scared? And how old is he?


  • You are not giving much details here. How old is he? It might be just a phase. My boys are scared of spiders sometimes but only if I show them that I’m scared too. If I act normal they are not scared.


  • Try teaching about the good things bugs do. Flies pollinate half of the mango flowers and other fruits and maybe get a small worm farm so their like pets and worm liquid helps your garden grow. so he can feed the garden. Just look and talk about the positive stuff. I got my kids to take photo’s for me to see the bugs. I tell them their too small for my eyes or too quick for me so the kids think their helping me by getting photo’s. They find grubs and caterpillars on my citrus etc.


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