Terrified of the dustbuster!

Well it was a little of both. My DS is also freaked at certain noises. He doesn't have any noisy toys and I just had the light bulb go off that he simply isn't used to things making that kind of noise. He's older than your DS, mine is 2.5 years, and he's just getting okay with some things. But pretty much I don't have noisy things in my house. I grind my coffee at the store and he is okay with that, because he can help, and I vacuum when he is sleeping. It's really not that big of a deal for me. I know someday he'll outgrow it. He doesn't chew on his books anymore, this too shall pass.

Awww just picturing him tearing up and screaming all done sounds so much like my son I almost got teary eyed (yeah but I have a lot of pregnancy hormones). I hate to see my son scared, I bet you do too. My son went through a stage where he was terrified of the vacuum cleaner. I believe in respecting fears so that they can grow out of them naturally. There is nothing to be scared about the vacuum cleaner, but if my son was scared then it is a real fear. I would have my husband take him into ds' room and they would sit on the bed while I vacuumed together, I would be vacuuming in the living room. After some time my son felt secure with my husband and so he ventured off the bed and would peek around the corner at me in the living room. Then later he wanted to sit on the couch in the living room while I vacuumed, but only with daddy. Now he does not shake over the vacuum cleaner, and he is only mildly scared if its coming at him while he's standing on the floor. He no longer needs daddy when the vacuum cleaner runs... it took some months to get past it, but I knew he wouldn't grow up scared of vacuum cleaners if I just let him grow out of it on his own. So that's my advice... respect his fear, its very real to him.

My dd was just like your ds and was so extreme about her fear over our vaccuum all shaking and screaming and I did the same thing as illinoismommy. It took a few times and each time she loosened her white knuckle grip on dh a bit more. These days she thinks it's her plaything and likes climb on it while I'm trying to vaccuum

My DD is terrified of loud noises too! The vacuum, the coffee grinder, public restroom toilets and the sudden ringing of a telephone are all reasons to have a complete breakdown, in her estimation. I have DH take her outside to play while I vacuum. I take the coffee grinder into another room and cover it with a towel to muffle the noise. The phone is a rough one, since I can't do much to avoid it. Restroom toilets are the MOST fun. Basically, we flush, then bolt out the door. No stopping to wash hands, pass go or collect 200 dollars. (I have Purell in the diaper bag just for these occasions.)

I can't wait until she outgrows the fear. My rugs await that day with baited breath as well.

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I do the exact same thing. I think when DD gets older, the fear will lessen so I don't push it. I also found a phone that plays some song by default.

DD is also afraid of toys that make noise without an obvious cause. So all of her toys like this are on a shelf in the laundry room. I don't know what to say other then wait until your child gets older. I tried desensitizing DD but it did not seem to work and I couldn't stand to see her that upset so I dropped it.

Well the first thing I did was get a dog. She's much better at picking stuff up than the dust buster. I'm being completely serious btw, she really is great at cleaning up after Jake!

Jake has had a fear of vacuums, blenders, and public toliets for quite awhile. For the vacuum he was ok if I wore him on my back while I used it. So I did that for like 6 mos. Just recently I have told him to go sit on the couch where he feels safe whenever I vacuum and that seems to work as long as I don't get too close (so there is about a 3 ft patch extending from the couch which is filthy ). We don't blend a lot so no issues there, I just have to keep him out of coffee shops. I have yet to figure out what to do about public restrooms. He has a completely melt down if we even go near one. I basically try really hard not to have to use one while I am out alone with him (no more jamba juice for me while at the mall!). When I have to change him I take him out to the car and change him in the trunk or if I have the stroller with me I do it in there in a quiet corner somewhere.

Thank you for your replies! I'd like to say that I'm glad my ds isn't alone, but I feel for all your dc, too.

Illinoismommy, I, too, know that this is a very real fear for ds. I do think he will grow out of it in time, but in the meantime...

I also vacuum when he's asleep and do his room when he's out of the house with daddy on Saturday mornings. I don't drink coffee and dh hasn't in a while so that issue is moot, and I try to remember to make ds's smoothies before I go get him from his nap. If I forget, I'm usually screwed and he's out that good snack! We have not encountered public toilet flushing yet...

I know that small children are much more aware of/sensitive to high-pitched sounds than adults, so I attribute this fear to that sensitivity (?)

I may try using the vacuum or dustbuster while dh is holding ds, but I certainly don't want to exacerbate the issue. Leximom, I'm hoping if I do, that eventually (ideally) he'll want to play with it, too - and I could totally see him using the dustbuster to help mommy around the house - if/when he gets over the fear... I do believe he would actually love that!

Thank you for sharing your experiences.

I would just leave it alone. He will outgrow it eventually and you trying to 'fix' it may make it much worse. I agree with just waiting it out and working around it, vacuuming when he's asleep or not home, etc. My ds was scared of loud things, too, and we just avoided using them around him for awhile. Now he's fine with most things and will just cover his ears and/or run away, but not be upset. That's a healthy way to deal with something that is too much for them to take, removing themselves from the situation, but your son may be too fearful still to do that. Don't push it. He'll eventually get there.