Mums of touchy toddlers - do your LO's freak at toys that make noises/move???

[clairebear79]

If I've posted in the wrong place please feel free to move this.

DS has just turned 2 & he's always been 'Touchy'.  He is REALLY wary of any toy that moves/makes sounds/speaks.  For e.g. a couple of weeks ago my SIL came to visit with her 1yo DS & brought his Mickey Mouse toy round.  You squeeze his hand & he dances & sings.  She puts it infront of DS, he likes the look of it but as soon as it moves he jumps out of his skin & runs to me & clings my leg. 

His birthday was earlier this week & he got a fire engine & rescue helicopter.  Both have buttons which if you press them, make siren sounds, the helicopter rotor spins etc.   Today he accidentally set the helicopter off, leapt in the air, covered his eyes & ran, frightened, to me.  He really doesn't seem to like the fact they move/makes noises & didn't want to play with them at all.  We decided to take the batteries out, & as soon as we did, he played with them no problem.

This is not a new thing, at age 1 he got an electronic shape sorter that sings/shouts when you put the shape in the right hole & he HATED it, and a toy garage that also makes noises that we had to switch off.  He hated sounds like the hoover (though he is ok with that now) & he can get scared when lorries/tractors go past.  Yet strangely, he will play happily with his toy lawnmower that revs its engine, & he doesn't mind his toy guitar, or books with noise buttons you can press (unless its a cow's 'moo' sound & he doesn't like that either!).

Is this really strange behaviour Typical for touchies   Or are most kids this way   These things seem to freak him out more than most other kids I know.  If your LO was like this - did they grow out of it & when   Is there anything I can do to help/encourage him to get used to it / not be afraid?  I don't mind if he prefers simple toys where he can use his imagination alone, but equally I don't want him to be so scared he runs away!

[j.and.e]

My ds1 is v sensitive to noise, but has never freakd at toys he's playing with. Lawnmower and hoover always made him cry. Now at 3.5 hes better, and will go upstairs if a noise bothers him. He does sometimes ask ds2 to turn off noisy toys 'because its disturbing me'. I think i wud show him the on/off switch and give him the choice. Xxx

[Tweakster]

Finn is not a fan of noise and never really has been.  Certain noises he doesn't mind but it really depends.  He hated Velcro for the longest time and cried when we had to put his shoes on...

Perhaps it was more the spinning that scared your boy than the sound?  (((hugs))) they get more used to the things that scare them.

[Hedgehog17]

Yes! *raises hand*

Almost all of his noisy toys have had the batteries removed 

I have never let him play with anything that moves by itself as he would totally freak!!

He has learned to cover his ears with his hands when something is too noisy - it's worth teaching as it gives LO a feeling of control 

He is getting better as he gets older, so I'm sure if you give it time O will be able to cope with these things better. In the meantime, try not to surprise him too much with noisy / moving toys - maybe let him see them from a distance?

[We Three]

 My dd is 5, and I know that exact Mickey Mouse thing you're describing. It scared the daylights out of my dd just this past Christmas at Target!  When she was 2ish, she wasn't crazy about noisy toys the first time she saw/heard one. But always got used to them in time and was fine with it. Toy vaccum that my SIL gave her, she FREAKED the first time. But after seeing her cousin push it around, she got used to it and then she loved it. 
 Sensitive little souls, some of these los.  But there are benefits to having a cautious kid!   

[Tweakster]

My mom loves those stuffed toys that sing and dance and move lips.  Sounds like Mickey.  She has some for Christmas (reindeer), some for Easter (bunny), Finn HATES them and insists I 'put them away mommy' lol  Yep, no singing cuddly toys for him thankyouverymuch. 

He hated the vacuum and still insists it's 'too loud'.  But he will use the little Dustbuster.  Funny souls.

It's true, when they are cautious, especially towards people, I call it the HSC sense.  You know there is just something they see that we don't.  I trust his judgment now, it's taken some time - I used to think he might be overreacting   But he's also very cautious when it comes to doing stuff and knowing what is safe and what isn't.  I worry less about him on playground equipment because he's super careful and doesn't really go beyond his abilities.  And if he does, he's very quick to panic and call LOL