16 Apr The ‘Magic Spray’ That Helped My Child Face His Fears
When logic fails and big emotions take over, Linda Bosnic discovers that a little imagination can go a long way in helping children feel brave again.
Bottled Up Fears
The life of a four-year-old seems fairly easy and carefree. But every now and again you realise that the life of a four-year-old is not always as carefree as it seems.
My son Luke had started preschool and had been happily marching off each day without fuss. But one particular morning he wouldn’t come out of his room. When I walked in, I found him curled up on his bed, cuddling his special teddy and looking quite sad.
“What’s the matter?” I asked.
“Nothing,” was his reply.
“Are you ready for preschool?”
His bottom lip started to quiver. “I’m not going.”
Even the arrival of his energetic two-year-old brother wasn’t enough to shift him. I knew it was serious.
Getting to the real problem
I tried the process of elimination.
“Don’t you like the teachers?”
“I like all the teachers.”
“Are the other kids mean?”
“No.”
We sat in silence before he finally said:
“I don’t like big people dressed up in costumes.”
Suddenly, I remembered a note from preschool about a road-safety mascot visiting that day.
My instinct was to say, “You don’t have to go.” But I knew avoidance might make things harder next time.
I tried reasoning. I explained it was just a person in a costume, that the teachers would help if he felt scared. None of it worked. Teddy was squeezed tighter.
Thinking like a four-year-old
We were running out of time. Then I had an idea.
If logic hadn’t worked, maybe imagination would.
I went searching for an old aromatherapy mist I had bought years earlier—a small midnight-blue bottle labelled “stress-reducing mist”. I diluted it and returned to Luke’s room.
“Well, Luke, I have something that can fix this,” I said.
He looked up.
“This is the ‘not being scared’ spray. Whenever you’re scared, you spray it on and you stop being afraid.”
He sat up.
“Whenever Mummy or Daddy are scared, we use it,” I said, spraying some on my head. His eyes lit up.
“Do you think it will work for me?”
“Of course.”
He closed his eyes as I sprayed it gently and said in a deep voice,
“Luke won’t be scared of big people in costumes anymore.”
A small moment, a big shift
“Are we ready for preschool now?” I asked.
“OK Mumma, I’ll go.”
I could hardly believe it. Such a simple idea—and it worked.
The power of a little magic
Since that day, the ‘not being scared’ spray has lived on a high shelf in the kitchen.
Whenever one of the kids feels scared or anxious, the spray comes out. Even our two-year-old asks for it, pointing and saying, “Spray… spray me.” I think he just likes the smell—but it works.
The spray has taken on a life of its own. It has fixed tea party disasters, repelled monsters from cupboards, fought imaginary dinosaurs and even helped during tricky nappy changes.
The little blue bottle is used sparingly, so it keeps its impact.
It’s amazing what a little magic can do.
Illustration by Madeleine Stamer
