Fear the Woodpecker

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

I have a child who isn't afraid of anything. Not that he's particularly bold; he likes to investigate things as opposed to jumping right in. But he's just the right combination of confident and curious (particularly in a familiar environment) to keep me on my toes.

Lately though he's developed a fear, and like most children's fears I assume, it is completely irrational. He has become terrified of woodpeckers.

We have a woodpecker that hangs out in our neighborhood, probably on our street, though I've never seen it. (Nonni claims to have spotted it and said it is a red-headed woodpecker, but she's been known to confuse elk for moose so I reserve judgement on the type. We're all in agreement that it is a woodpecker.) Afternoons when we go play out front, we usually hear him tapping away at whatever he's perched on.

The first time we heard him, Duke stopped in his tracks and looked around. The second time he stopped and ran to my chair, hanging out by my side for a few minutes saying "Woodpecker?" and very seriously gazing around. When I realized that he was afraid of the woodpecker I tried to explain that it was just a bird. I looked one up in his book and showed it to him. No help.

Now, every time I suggest putting on our shoes to go outside, his first response is "woodpecker?" Yesterday when we were out, the woodpecker was doing his usual thing, and Duke had his usual response- running straight-faced over to my chair and hanging on the arm rest. But he added something to his routine. He started saying "bite. bite. bite."

So I think he believes the woodpecker is some dangerous creature that bites. On the other hand, he'd be thrilled to meet a dinosaur or a dragon, so I guess it's best not to take kids' fears too seriously.