3Yo TERRIFIED of Sirens... What Can I Do?

Then try and talk to him about what Firemen are and the Ambulance.
Just like you did with the Policemen.

At certain ages, starting from about 2 years old, kids do develop 'fears.' It is developmental based per their age. So to a certain extent, 'fears' are normal.

But sirens are loud, and the pitch is not exactly pleasant. Even for me.

Maybe, take him to a Fire Station, and let him meet them/see the Fire trucks etc. Some fire stations do that for kids.

And get him some Fire Trucks and Ambulance toy cars. To play with.

And tell Grandpa not to use examples like that, saying that "they will come and get you" sort of thing. A 3 year old... has a real vivid imagination... and we can't stop their minds from imagining things. But you can help by explaining things to him. And tell Grandpa don't say things like that to him anymore.

Can you take him over to the fire station and have the firemen explain what they do?

That doesn't sound like a remote connection. There may not be a clear separation in his mind between the different originators of sirens.

It might help to listen carefully to his worries and not try to convince him his feelings have no basis. Rather, get to the actual basis, so that he can examine his fear more objectively. From there, he may actually be able to realize that he didn't have the fear before his GP's comment, and nothing bad ever happened to him. At that point, you can tell him GP was wrong to tell him that. Perhaps GP could apologize, as well.

Your little guy can't make that conceptual jump just by you telling him there's nothing to fear. His fear is here, and it's real. Once his feelings are validated, he will be able to help find his own solution. (This works well for all kinds of classic kid issues!) Find out more about this sensible, practical process in the book How to Talk So Kids Will Listen, and Listen So Kids Will Talk. Read part of it here: http://www.amazon.com/How-Talk-Kids-Will-Listen/dp/038081...

Good luck! My husband remembers becoming terrified of road graders when he was around 3 or 4. There was an earthquake in Seattle – his mom grabbed him up and dashed outside, where panicked neighbors were converging with their little kids. A road grader was grinding along the shoulder of the road. It took quite a few years for him to get past the fear, but his mom probably just tried to tell him over and over that road graders wouldn't hurt him. He didn't get to explore that connection until he was an adult.

I say take him to the fire station and let him check out the trucks. I've known many a fireman (half the men in my family) and i don't know anyone of them that would turn you away. If it's a busy station, maybe call ahead to see if you can stop in? If he's scared of the sirens/lights/horns maybe they'll even let him beep the horn himself. Maybe a fireman/fire truck book with a cute dog or something like that will help him see them in a more positive light. Maybe firetruck toy with sounds to let him explore that scary thing on his own terms? Good luck!

I agree with the below, see if you can take him over to meet the firemen and see the trucks. They are usually great about having kids come and visit and will show them around. If there is a name to put with the siren it might help so when you hear it you can remind him that "Fireman Bob is on his way to an important job and needs the siren to get there fast." Maybe a new toy that is a fire truck with a siren that isn't too loud or a fireman costume that he helps to pick out. A book or video about fire trucks and ambulances might help too and reassurance that they are all their to help. Does it help it all if you act really excited to hear the fire truck and want to go and want to see if you can see it out the window?

Hope you both get through this soon and he is back to loving sirens and the trucks.

My son's first day care was right across the street from a fire station. From an early age he LOVED the sound of sirens. We use to go to every fire station open house. If we went on vacation any where, we'd visit the local fire station. He could tell the difference between a pumper and a ladder truck, and he knew all about out riggers by 3 yrs old. His favorite Halloween costume was - yep - a fireman - complete with helmet, a water squirting toy fire extinguisher, fireman rain boots, and a coat and pants with reflective stripes on them. (Did you know that the annual Chincoteague pony round up is run by the Chincoteague fire department?) It got to the point where if we ever saw a fire truck with their lights and sirens going, he'd want me to follow them to see what was going on. There are quite a few fire truck DVD's out there which can explain about fire trucks and fire fighting. Besides fire trucks, there are airport fire trucks, fire boats, helicopters that dump water, and there's a real cool super scooper plane out of Canada that can scoop up water from a lake or river and dump it on forest fires! My husband bought the whole Emergency series on DVD and although it's mostly about paramedics, there are a lot of fires and fire trucks in it too. It's amazing the things you can learn when you're showing them to your kids. Don't even get me started talking about dinosaurs!

my 3 year old daughter got scared all of a sudden as well so we started to take her to our friends fire station that way she gets use to the trucks and the sirens they are really good with her.

Poor little guy!
I would schedule a tour of the firehouse for him. Firemen are awesome!
Yes, the sirens are loud and scary, but they are used so that people know to get out of the way in case of emergency....they aren't bad guys going after anyone.
My son was fascinated by firetrucks. He still is. Luckily, a guy I went to high school with was a captain and he let me take my little boy for a tour. They showed him the pole and the gear and and how the trucks work. They gave him little books about firemen.

My husband and I were separated when my husband took our son to visit Grandpa one weekend. Grandpa wasn't hungry and didn't want his lunch. He said he wanted to lay down. He was in his 80's so they took Grandpa in and tucked him in for a nap. Grandpa didn't wake up. He passed away.
My husband called 911 and the first responders were the firemen EMT's. My husband tried to shield my son from Grandpa being taken out of the house, but let me tell you......for years after that, my son was convinced Grandpa was riding around in the back of a firetruck. He wasn't quite 3 yet. So he waved at every fire truck thinking Grandpa was riding around with him. It was sweet, really. In my little town, every Christmas Eve, an old fire truck drives through the streets with Santa and they make sure every kid gets a candy cane and gets to see Santa. It's done by the volunteer fire department. My son is 14 now so he knows Grandpa isn't on that fire truck. They've known my son since he was a baby and we get Santa curb side firetruck service every year.

Like I said, I would contact the fire department that you live close to and tell them your son is afraid and ask to arrange a visit for him. He will find out very quickly that firemen are our friends and they care about us and keep us safe. They don't "come after people", they save people. You might want to even explain to the firemen to give the same talk about police officers....sirens don't mean they are going "after" anyone. The sirens mean they have to hurry to help someone who is sick or maybe had an accident.
Fireman and Police officers don't go after little boys. They protect children.

Ambulances have sirens because they are in a hurry and it lets other cars know to pull over and get out of their way because someone might be sick and need somone in a hurry.
Sirens are loud and they can be annoying, but they are for a reason that has nothing to do with coming after a little boy.

I strongly suggest you let him meet some of these people so he can see them as helpers and heroes as opposed to fearing them.

I think it will help a lot.

Best wishes to you!

I just wanted to make a somewhat different suggestion. First, maybe he connects to firemen if he heard one of them instead of a police car after grandpa told him that, Second, since your son is afraid of the firemen and ambulance, he probably is not going to be too happy with you taking him over to the firestation. You might be able to go over and explain the problem to them and ask if they could visit you. I don't think they would be able to leave their duty but when one is off duty, maybe come over for a quick visit. then you could take him over.

A couple of suggestions: kids hearing is much more sensitive than ours... it may actually be painful to him to hear the sirens. We live near the firestation too, and I actually asked a friend of mine who works there if it is necessary all the time, and he said no, they often run it just because they like to, and they have since cut it out because there are several toddlers on my street. Now they only run it when it is really necessary. Taking him up to the fire station might work, but just make sure they don't turn on the siren when he's in there!
Maybe have him help you bake some cookies to take up to the firemen before you go... my son loved doing that!

We had the same problem when my son was a little over 2. We took him to the station so he could meet the firemen and see the trucks up close. They let him climb into the truck and he loved it. Since then (he's almost 5 now), he isn't afraid of the sirens. He still covers his ears when they are close by, but he's no longer terrified when he hears them. It's worth a try!