So today, while the boys are playing in front of the house:
Me: “Jonah. Car coming…” (get out of the road)
Jonah screams: “ALL DONE CAR COMING!!!!” (I don’t want the car coming)
I realized I had heard him say that before in almost the exact same manner…
…from the back seat of the car.
I had assumed he had gotten the aversion from a scene in the movie “Cars.”
I was wrong.
I have been letting Jonah play out front with his brother and his friends, and Jonah has been learning about avoiding “cars” in the street while playing.
“Car coming,” means it’s time to be safe.
“Car coming,” means fun is interrupted.
“Car coming,” means bad things could happen.
I get it now.
“All done car coming.”
With a little bit of general anxiety from this quarantine, Jonah has transferred the anxiety of playing in front of the house to riding in the car.
Of course!
Any time there is a car behind us, there is always a “car coming.”
The longer a car is behind us, the more upset Jonah will get, until it turns into a full-blown screaming meltdown.
THAT is what started this.
Now, to figure out how to remedy it…
Thoughts?