@fedcom:
Wow, that's quite good of you to do that.
I don't know many parents who would go to such lengths.
If I ever expressed a phobio like that, my parents would simply say "Don't be ridiculous" and drag me on the plane straight away the next time we went on a trip.
Thank you, that's kind of you to say. From my perspective I had no choice, he was hysterical. There was no way we would have been getting seated on a plane, even if I was that kind of suck-it-up sort of parent. And really, there's no right answer for dealing with these things, and it's different for each person so afflicted. Some people need that very no-nonsense, suck it up approach, and for others it is counter-productive and just rachets up the anxiety. It's a tricky business trying to meet the need without giving credence to the fear, if that makes sense, and a parent usually will know their kid best. In other words, I want to help him settle down and feel safe, but I can't baby him, because that will make him feel at some deep level that I also think whatever he fears is something to be feared. So we did push him each time to the point where he was visibly upset (people were staring, he was that upset, lol), but then we left. But we always tried again, never waiting very long, and got further each time.
@LaCaSiNa:
Oh yeah? I've suffered of emetophobia for ten years and running and I don't think it's ever going to go away. I was diagnosed with anxiety disorder last year because of it and I had the pills and therapy. Can't say any of it really changed anything, not permanently at least.
Yeah I believe my son's fears come from an anxiety disorder–anxiety runs in the family. I've been told that the younger the kid is when they start therapy, the easier/quicker treatment is, and he did respond to the therapy we got him as well as the work we personally did with him very quickly, really. I'd like to be able to help him develop more general coping skills and the like that he can use on his own, if the anxiety takes another form. We did do things specific to the particular things he was anxious about, and I imagine it may be easier now that he's experienced that sense of success over those two fears. Fire drills are certainly easier on him than they used to be.