Children are scared of all sorts of things. I remember thinking there were mummies in my bedroom closet at the age of 10, and my Mom coming in to rid my room of these intruders, dressed as an Archaeologist, and singing something about “Mummy-Busters.” Perhaps monster spray also would have worked in that particular instance?

I always imagined the things that might frighten my young son would include monsters, aliens, dinosaurs or maybe scary faces. While watching television yesterday, I was rather surprised to learn that the cute, cuddly (did I mention annoying?) little ball of dough known by all as the Pillsbury Dough Boy could strike fear into the heart of a child. A commercial for baked goods aired, and Liam’s reaction was indeed surprising. He started to howl, as the white figure emmerged, smiling from a paper bag. Liam ran from the television set into my arms, wailing. I wondered if it was something else that had frightened him, and the timing was just such that I had misinterpreted his reaction to the commercial. I simply could not understand why this image would frighten a baby. Later, the same commercial came on, and the same reaction ensued.

I am no longer afraid of mummies. In fact, my degree is in Anthropology, so I’d have to say that on the contrary, I am actually quite fascinated by them. Hopefully, my son will outgrow his fear of the Dough Boy, because I don’t know if monster spray would work if he was hiding under Liam’s bed. If in fact he doesn’t outgrow this fear, at least I’ll know my fear of butterflies isn’t all that strange afterall!