Taking every scary story about things that happen to kids to heart...

I feel SO scared and SO helpless and so out of control every time I see/hear/read about anything happening to a child. I immediately think of my sweet little guy. I mean... SO SCARED. How do parents HANDLE this fear?!!? I don't want to be an overprotective mom, but how do you strike that balance? Every story I see - whether fiction or real - I let get to me and just want to cry at all the scary possibilities. Until I had my boy, have never been SO emotionally affected by every story I hear...

Children who are sick... kids who get hurt... the whole "stranger danger" thing... that mother who collapsed yelling at the driver who killed her child in court the other day... any story I see about kids on that "Long Island Medium" show... people who tell me stories about things that have happened to children they know... even episodes of "House". OMG... I seem to be internalizing EVERYTHING lately and EVERYTHING makes me think and fear and just want to puy my son in a bubble.

It's just all so fragile and it just SCARES the hell out of me. I don't even know what I would do, GOD FORBID, except just fall apart.

Just had to get that out and wonder if anyone else feels the same way lately or if it's just so strong from being a relatively new mom. My heart literally aches at the thought of some of these things... all I can do is pray and pray and pray.

God bless our children!!!!! Thanks for indulging my emotional rant.

Re: Taking every scary story about things that happen to kids to heart...

This is one of the bigger reasons I wanted out of being a paramedic and 911 dispatcher. I just couldn't take it anymore. I was not sleeping well, I was stressed out all the time, I was a mess thinking about every.single.thing. that could happen, because I had seen and heard so much badness already. What I have learned is that kids will fall, kids will do scary things, kids will do their own thing and it's our job to teach them the safe choices, to watch them, and to protect them. It is also our job to ket them be kids and to try and kepp our crazy, yes I mean me here, to ourselves. Example: I HATE thunderstorms. I was in a tornado sorta as a child so any storm freaks me the helll out, but I do not want my daughter to be afraid because I am. I laugh, and sing, and do whatever I can to ease my fears so she never sees it. She LOVES storms and has no fear because I try to keep my crazy in. I know you're talking about bigger things but the example applies there to. Yes kids get gravely ill, but worrying will not change that if it happens, so I can freak out over it or I can appreciate my healthy kids NOW and cross that bridge if God forbid I ever have too. I can worry about stranger danger all day every day but instead I teach my kids that not everybody is nice and they don't have to be with peole they don't feel comfortable with. They are 2 and 5 months so we have a lot to teach yet. The point is I wasted so much of Emmy's babyhood stressing and worrying that I missed some of it. Instead of being so excited when she started wlaking I was pertified because OMG she could fall down the stairs, or open a door and get out or whatever that I missed the chance to really really embrace that wonderful time. You are sooooooooo not alone, and it will never change...helll i'm almost 30 and my mom drove 2hrs away to have lunch with me so she knew what hotel I was at in case she needed the info Yes I am an almost 30 year old women who's mommy was to scared to let her go to a big city alone, and I get it now.....I finally get it

Re: Taking every scary story about things that happen to kids to heart...

I could've wrote your post word for word. I'm also trying to learn how to just live in the moment and enjoy my beautiful, healthy son instead of thinking "OMG! That could be DS" all the time. As much as I love LI Medium, when she has kids with cancer, that's the worst. I just imagine that being me. God forbid!!!
I'm trying to push all those thoughts away. So hard. I just want to enjoy him and not worry so much!