Take Me To Post Comment Form My eldest daughter was almost two years old when my husband, Clint, and I took her to see her first Fourth of July fireworks display. Little Rebecca had never demonstrated much of a tolerance for loud noises or jarring sensations, so Clint and I figured there was a good chance that our evening would end with tears.

Then it occurred to us that perhaps we could prepare Rebecca for the fireworks show ahead of time, despite the fact that she was still so young. All we had to do was tell her what to expect in a way that she could understand.

Clint and I started talking about the fireworks to Rebecca a few hours before the show was scheduled to begin. "The fireworks will be big, bright lights up in the sky," we told her. "They will go ‘boom!’ and ‘pow!’ They will be very loud."

We made a point to speak to Rebecca with obvious excitement in our voices. We wanted to convey to her that the fireworks would be fun, not scary. We stretched out our arms to demonstrate how huge the fireworks would be. We reminded Rebecca again and again that they would be very loud, but also very pretty.

By the time we actually went to see the fireworks show, Rebecca was totally prepared for it, and the event went off without a hitch. There were no tears, only squeals of joy and excitement.

In the days following her first fireworks show Rebecca would often yell, "Boom, pow!" and throw her arms wide in the air. Clint and I were not sure if she was reenacting the fireworks display or just mimicking us, but either way she was happy. And we were happy too, because we had successfully prepared our daughter for a situation that she might otherwise have found disorienting and frightening.

This past week, on the Fourth of July, Clint and I decided to practice the same "firework preparation technique" with our second daughter, twenty-month old Anna. Clint came up with the idea of showing Anna pictures of fireworks (with accompanying sound effects) on his laptop computer. "Pretty fireworks," we told her, pointing at the images on the screen.

That night at Mill Creek, Anna watched the entire fireworks show without shedding a single tear. And the next day, when we showed her some digital pictures that I had taken of the fireworks, she yelled, "Boom, pow!" and threw her arms wide into the air! Clint and I both started laughing.

If you think about it, no one likes to be caught off guard; it always feels better to be prepared. When we know what to expect in a situation, we have a measure of control. Kids are no different from the rest of us in this regard.

So, whether it is a fireworks show, a change of staff at daycare, the arrival of a new sibling, or a cross-county move, do your children a favor and make an effort to prepare them in the best way that you can for whatever lies ahead…even if that means doing something as silly as yelling, "Boom!" and waving your arms in the air!