That time our daughter was scared of water

{3min Read}

Setting the stage real quick,
I had a teenage step daughter,
She was fairly anxious at the time,
But was always in for new experiences.

So we went to an aqua park.
One of those big inflatable places on the water. There was a big swing, slides, obstacles to climb, things to balance on, trampoline looking things on the water… It looked like tons of fun!
We lived right near it, so most times we went for a drive we would stare at it and talk about finally getting there. This weekend it was time to take the plunge.

Having just taken other children there, everything up to getting in the water flowed smoothly.
Life jackets,
Safety briefing,
Waiting in line…
What was the problem now?…

The Unknown.

Our daughter liked to know everything, every little detail,
every event coming up,
what everyone was doing.
All. The. Time.

A fun day in the water turned in to a deep look into her mind.

I told her to go first, but she wouldn’t. Not being sure what would happen was holding her back. That fear had control of her, it was driving the ship.
In shopping centres she was anxious, and looking down at her feet.
At school she would take a while to make friends,
Trying new things was tough,
New foods were almost a no go,
Everything was limited and controlled with her.
If she thought something was getting out of line, she would just snap down on it.
This was the same.

Eventually we both jumped in, and goofed around on the inflatables.
She was laughing, running around, climbing all over things. Every now and then she would get a little in her head and freak out about something, like running up a high part and seeing how far she could get across the top beam… but she gave everything a go. It was a blast!

Afterwards, and over the next few, I would pay attention whenever I thought our daughter didn’t have enough information. Sometimes I would even push it myself, I was living over an hour away and worked in houses overnight. When I realised her need to know everything, and the effect it had on her emotions, I slowly gave her less and less time to adjust. At first I would let her know in the morning that I was leaving that afternoon, pulling back more and more until she would know just before I left. Same with when I would come back. It took time, and it was a delicate process, but it freed both of us from that pressure. Now she realises that she can plan ahead, and survive just fine when people or things are gone for a while.

Be on the lookout when you’re having fun with your children. All kinds of things can pop up!

(They could even be a walking meme)

Let us know below about the best fun you’ve had with your children!