Dylan watched his first full length feature film in the movie theater! For those of you with young children, you know this accomplishment. Dylan in particular has struggled with a fear of theaters among other things, like the coin operated rides in the malls. The first movie he watched was an IMAX film at Yellowstone Park in August 2007. He was scared at first, but we were able to distract him with popcorn and soda, which was a novelty for him. He managed to make it though the 45 minute experience, but it was challenging. We knew that it would be a long time before attempting it again.
Well, we attempted it again this past summer at the planetarium. There was a short 30 or 45 minute show in the main dome and he didn't last 5 minutes before he was in the back of the theater crying and begging to leave. This time we didn't have popcorn since it wasn't allowed. Once the theater darkened and he heard the loud bang of the universe, that was enough for him!
I thought it was time to give it another try with a nice Disney movie. He was so cute using "positive self-talk" to help him fight his fears. He kept saying things like, "It will not be dark. I will not be scared. I will not cry." We got our popcorn and entered the theater minutes before the promos. He really couldn't sit in the seats very well and his seat kept collapsing on him. He learned to scoot to the front for better stability. Once the promos started, he jumped in my lap and started to whine, saying that he wanted to leave. I comforted him and then covered his ears with my fingers to help lesson the noise. He calmed down and then turned to face the screen and covered his own ears. We made it through the 20 minutes of previews and he was OK. I breathed a sigh of relief and thought we might actually make it. He seemed to be in awe of the big screen and enjoyed the experience as long as he covered his ears. It really is pretty loud for young children. During quiet scenes he even uncovered his ears long enough to munch on popcorn and drink a soda. A couple of scenes were a little scary for him and he asked to leave at one point to go the the bathroom and started to walk up the stairs toward the back of the theater. I caught him before he got too far and took him to the bathroom. Public restrooms are also challenging since he has a fear of automated flushing toilets. Despite some anxiety and a little crying, we made it through the bathroom break and I thought for sure that he wouldn't want to go back to the theater. But, he surprised me and said that he wanted to see the movie. Of course, he convinced himself that "it would not be dark." Luckily, it was a quiet scene when we returned and it was fairly uneventful until the end of the movie. He was worried about Bolt's safety and said he wanted to leave. I decided to cover his eyes while he covered his ears and he relaxed. He just told me to cover his face when he was worried. Once the movie ended and the credits appeared he wanted to stay a little longer. Overall, he really loved this experience and the movie was pretty cute. He keeps asking about going back to the movies. It is so nice to have another outing option. Next time, I think we will bring ear muffs!
1 comment:
That is so special! I'll keep that in mind when we eventually go to the movies with Rebecca. As far as the auto toilets go - take a package of sticky notes with you and stick one over the little sensor. Then it doesn't know when you've moved away from the front of the toilet and you can flush when ready!
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