My toddler is PETRIFIED of going on the grass. Help!

We're moving from the city to the suburbs. In the interim we're going back and forth to the new house to move things. My DD REFUSES to go on the lawn. She'll walk on the driveway, the patio, and the walkway, but will NOT go on the lawn. She'll start hysterically crying! I tried putting her on the lawn and running away from her saying "catch me! Catch me!" (This used to be a big hit). She just started crying and would not move until I picked her up.

We're moving from the city to HAVE a backyard!!! I'm so sad and don't want her to hate the lawn!

Any ideas how to make it better??

Re: My toddler is PETRIFIED of going on the grass. Help!

It could be a sensory thing. How old is she? My son was ok with grass until he was about 15 months old. Then he wouldn't walk on it with bare feet or touch it with his hands.. It took months of OT to overcome it but he did and now he loves it. Just keep trying her with it... She will get use to it..

Re: My toddler is PETRIFIED of going on the grass. Help!

My DD was the same way. She used to cry and freak out when we put her on the grass. Now she lays in it and walks around barefoot lol. It was just a phase for her and something to get used to. It feels funny and honestly i dont love it myself lol. Hopefully your DD will get over it too.

ETA my DD is 22 months.

Message edited 6/7/2014 9:21:06 PM.

My toddler is PETRIFIED of going on the grass. Help!

It's a new sense! She'll probably grow out of it. Maybe you could take her and sit in the grass with her on your lap and play with the grass. That's what we did when we first introduced DS to the grass. He was only 5-6 months, but he hated it at first. Now he just wants to run and lay in it!

Re: My toddler is PETRIFIED of going on the grass. Help!

My children have the same type of sensory issues and it's totally normal! An OT therapist had given me the tip of spraying shaving cream all over the lawn and letting them play in that on the lawn (total mess, I know!!) You could also make a square out of it on the lawn near the edge and let her sit on the cement and "draw" in it. It's messy, yes but it's fun and a way for them to transition into getting used to the feel and it's not so harsh with shaving cream on it. I'm sure as time goes on, she'll grow out of it like mine have! Good luck!

My toddler is PETRIFIED of going on the grass. Help!

I just had this issue with DD for the first time yesterday. She's fine with shoes on but when I took her shoes off for a minute she flipped. I don't remember her having an issue last summer going barefoot on grass although she refused to do sand barefoot. I wouldn't push it or make a big deal of it but just keep trying. Maybe play catch or bubbles on the patio and see if she'll wander into the grass a little while she's playing.

Re: My toddler is PETRIFIED of going on the grass. Help!

How old is she? DS was afraid of the grass the first few times he was on it, but now he loves it. Just took exposure a few times...and fun toys helped. He loves bubbles, so we play bubbles on the lawn and he runs around trying to catch them.

Re: My toddler is PETRIFIED of going on the grass. Help!

Thank you everyone!!
She's 20 months.
I'm going to try the shaving cream idea!
Bubbles didn't work.

Re: My toddler is PETRIFIED of going on the grass. Help!

Sounds to me that she is just nervous around the novel stimuli. My best advice is to let her get used to it a little at a time on her own terms.
Pull some grass out of the ground and let her play with it on the deck or patio. Does she like water? Maybe get a little splash pool and put it on the lawn. If she is afraid of that it likely isn't sensory and more about comfortability with grass and the lawn.
Also as often as you can, walk on it. Let her see it's ok.

My toddler is PETRIFIED of going on the grass. Help!

My dd was like that last summer the first few times. And then this year at 18mos we went to FL and she was hysterical over the sand! Sometimes it can just be a phase.

Re: My toddler is PETRIFIED of going on the grass. Help!

It sounds sensory. I'd slowly desensitize her to it over time. She will get used to it.

My toddler is PETRIFIED of going on the grass. Help!

DD was the exact same way! If you put her on the grass, she would just yell "up!" because she didn't want to be on it. She got over it when we were at a friend's house for a party and she had to walk on the grass from the slide back into the bounce house. No shoes either! Now she's running all over the grass. Walk with her and hold her hand. That helped DD a lot.

Re: My toddler is PETRIFIED of going on the grass. Help!

DS1 was like that. He does have sensory issues, but I do hear a lot of young toddlers don't like the grass. Try with sneakers and socks so she doesn't really have to touch first. Put lots of her favorite stuff down on the grass. She'll work herself up.

DS now is fine on the grass, but now the sand is another thing. He works on it and eventually gets there. With that when we went away in the winter he started on the chair. He watched me make sand castles then I put some on his toes. He was fine by the end of the vacation with some issues, but was fine with shoes on.

Re: My toddler is PETRIFIED of going on the grass. Help!

My DD was the same way. I'd put her on the grass and she'd try and walk like a cat or dog with booties on. It was just a phase.

Re: My toddler is PETRIFIED of going on the grass. Help!

My DD was the same way at around 2 years old, she always had to have shoes on. When she saw her cousins barefoot she started slowly getting used to it. Give it some time.

Re: My toddler is PETRIFIED of going on the grass. Help!

My DD was like that the first time we brought her out east and put her down on grass. We live in the city, and while we often take her to Central Park, I guess she's just so used to being on concrete. Talk about being a city kid!

We fixed the problem by giving her a bouncy ball to play with. It distracted her enough to walk on the grass.

My toddler is PETRIFIED of going on the grass. Help!

sometimes grass is uncomfortable for their little feet - I am sure she will get used to it in no time

Re: My toddler is PETRIFIED of going on the grass. Help!

My niece was the same way. We put a blanket out on the lawn and had a little picnic and play time. It went away very quickly as she got more used to it.

My toddler is PETRIFIED of going on the grass. Help!

It might just be fear of the unknown. Maybe enticing her with a new outdoor toy like bubbles or a ball would get her to step onto the grass. Or lay out a blanket and put some toys or books that she likes on it. Then while she's on the blanket try to get her to touch the grass.

Re: My toddler is PETRIFIED of going on the grass. Help!

My daughter was like that last spring, when she was about 10 months old. She screamed bloody murder if I tried putting her on the lawn. I put out a blanket with some toys and carried her there, and we sat and played. Eventually, she would tentatively reach her hand or bare foot out to touch the grass briefly, like she was testing it out. She finally ventured off the blanket because I was drinking a Dunkin Donuts iced tea and she wanted the straw. I kept moving it further and further away from the blanket, and she started crawling all over the lawn!

ETA: Now my next challenge is to get her to like sand. She screams every time she touches it!

Message edited 6/10/2014 8:03:57 AM.

Re: My toddler is PETRIFIED of going on the grass. Help!