Rudolf and "The Bumble"

Kate loves Rudolph. The nose, the music, the idea of misfits. BUT, she was terrified of the Abominable Snow Monster. We had read her the book and thought she would be ready to see the movies, but OMG what a nightmare. We needed to turn it off after Rudolf left his parents' cave for the first time. I looked over at her and her eyes were filled with tears. "It is so sad (sob, sob). The monster is going to get him!!"

She was having separation anxiety for Rudolf. When the Bumble made his first appearance, she shrieked. We decided to cut it there.

We then put on "The Snowman" which is a slightly artsy, very tame tale of a snowman coming to life. It has no dialogue and is very whimsical. She did great til the end and again I noticed tears streaming down her face. She couldn't handle the separation at the end when the boy had to go inside and the snowman stayed outdoors. She had never seen it before but somehow knew the snowman's fate. "I want him to go to bed with the boy (sob, sob)"

Our little Emo Kate.

That night, she was up several times with nightmares about "the Bumble". Interestingly, the next morning she insisted on watching it again. It was as if she needed to face her fears. So she and Papa, clutching all of her animals, watched Rudolf from start to finish (through some silent tears). After that, she was able to come to terms with the events of the movie and decided the Bumble was no longer a threat without teeth. We needed to reinforce this daily for weeks.

I think we maybe should have held off on the Xmas movies til next year. Lesson learned. But, she loved the Grinch. I asked her if she was scared of the Grinch, and she replied, "No, Mama, because he talks". Mmm. Maybe because the "Bumble" never talks that makes him more frightening?

Kate suggested "Maybe when I am older" Wise child.