how does one deal with.........

[crumpet]

a 2.5year old that has developed a sudden fear of the ducted heating..... yep thats right the ducted bloody heating!!!!!

so DD has, for the last week and a bit, started screaming everytime the heating goes on when she is in bed, and the vent is on the other side of the room!

we dont understand whats going on, its not noisy just your typical ducted heating vent.

we have tried telling her its windy to help the birds fly- no go
we have gotten her to feel it and touch it and she is fine with that but if she is in her bed and it comes on all hell breaks loose.
ive told her its there to keep her warm so she doesnt get cold when she is asleep and she says " oh ok" and then it comes on and BAM the issues start!

its getting cold here so theres no way i can keep it off because we will all freeze but im at a loss as to how to get her to understand its ok.

has anyone else has this?

i dont want to ignore the problem or her, and last night and this morning i tried the "yes the heaters on but we cant turn it off" approach and made less of a deal, i acknowledged the problem but kept things simple rather than being excessively sympathetic to keep the fuss away but again it made no difference

HELP!

[MLR1901]

Attach something to the vent - like a tissue paper tassel or some paper butterflies...

[Arcadia]

Can you close the vent in her room?

Otherwise I would also suggest hanging something over the vent that moves with the 'wind'.

2.5 yr olds get scared easily. My ds is scared of shadows on the wall from the night light!

[Rouge]

My DS is terrified of the air inlet noise (which is the hallway near his room). We had to put something on in his room because the on and off of the heating freaked him out. Only when he had to sleep though.

I think the butterflies/closing the vent etc is a great idea!

[AnyDream]

Close the vent, if necessary jam something underneath to stop the noise coming through.

My dd went through a phase around the same age when she was convinced the bed was moving & there were strange lights on the ceiling. We worked out the movement inside the colour-changing nightlight was creating moving shadows. Solution, change night light.

Is it only when LO is asleep? It might be the sensation of being woken from light sleep that is scary, rather than the noise itself. You could try opening the vent again in a couple of months, it might not be an issue by then.

[crumpet]

we have closed the vent and taken the cover off incase it was rattling and making noises that scared her.

DH is going to get a dust insert in the hope that it tones down some of the noise but ill set an art project for the weekend to make butterflies to tie on to the cover and see if it helps.

thanks for the tips!

[Charlotte91]

I hope you can find something that works. Poor Miss.

It's true that 2yos are frightened easily. DD has developed a sudden fear of flies....

[maybebaby2012]

Could you get her another noise maker for bed time? Like one of those relaxation machines or play some soothing music until she falls asleep?

[crumpet]

we have a sleep sheep that ive tried but she flips out when i put it on, its like any noise in her room sends her a bit crazy!