11 Year old scared of riding rollacoasters? How to get rid of the fear?

Question

11 Year old scared of riding rollacoasters? How to get rid of the fear?

Question Details: Were taking my 11 year old cousin to an amusement park and we want to get that fear to go away. she also wants to so were not pushing her but we have nooooo idea how to! any ideas?

Answer 1

well do what i did ride the biggest roller coaster you know

Answer 2

well i used to be VERY afraid of rollercoasters, but eventually i got away from that fear but DO NOT force her she'll be tramatized for a while my sis did that to me and we hated each other for a while because of it

Answer 3

Don't go them, it's as simple as that, lets be honest could you go through life without going on one? Well of course you could, it's not like being scared of the dark is it?

Answer 4

Put her in the middle, the front is  so scary and the back gets the whip , so middle is cool

if it is three across again put her in the middle.

Tell her I did all three and that is the way to go I enjoyed it and I am old...And don't eat too close to going on...

have fun!!!!

Answer 5

Several ways you can do that. You can start on smaller coasters, and then work  your way up.

Or, you can just put her on a moderately fast coaster that is pretty fast, but also a lot of fun too.

I used to be terrified of coasters, but my friend forced me on the Superman at Six Flags, and I've loved roller coasters ever since!

Good Luck!

Answer 6

if it's just fear the only way she'll get over it is to go on one. Just do it. If it's fear of getting sick she can take an anti-nausea medicine before hand like bonine or dramamine (both OTC)

Good luck! I LOVE rollercoasters!

Answer 7

drag her on the roller coasters. lol. that what my friend did. i was hyperventilating in line, but i had fun. i thank her now cause i love riding the roller coasters!!

Answer 8

Start off small, VERY SMALL, with like the kiddie coaster, then move up to something a bit larger, then as large as she wants to go.  I personally don't like roller coasters because of the nausea it causes me :)

Answer 9

Nothing wrong with not wanting to go on rollercoasters. Despite the amusement parks giving people the impression that rollercoaster rides are completely safe, accidents DO happen and people have and will die on those rides. If your cousin doesnt want to go on rollercoasters, respect her decision and maybe find something else that will be fun to do.

Answer 10

I was afraid of going on coasters too until I actually went on one. Has she ever been on one? Just make sure she sits in the middle and you don't sit in the very front of back.

Also, for the first time is probably best to go on something mellow, so no loops or anything too shakey.

Answer 11

get her on the coaster and hold her and keep telling her it's going to be ok..... once she has done it once she will be ok, just keep laughing and having fun dont ask questions like "are you scared"... that will only heighten the anxiety... tell her how fun it is and that its not as big of a deal as it seems.

Answer 12

to face ur fear u have to actually do ur fear ...so u need to ride a roller coater...

i was life horrorfide by roller coasters untill my bff,and my bf went to unervisal studios and they wanted to go on a roller coaster, so i said no but the like picked me up and i went on a roller coater that goes upside down and all and i  luved it

Answer 13

basically you just let them watch the ride for a while and then be like, ok seeing as you weren't scared for those people why be scared for yourself?

I can't really think of anything just try and get your cusoin to just get on.

Answer 14

Take her on the easiest coaster there first - or if there is an indoor one, Canada's Wonderland has the one that's partially inside the mountain...if they cant see the ride, they are more likely to be comfortable...Basically tho, just get them on the ride, if they dont like it after the first time, they might not like it ever...

Answer 15

explain that they're supposed to be scary and that she just needs to enjoy the thrill but stress the fact that it's safe or else they wouldn't put them in the parks.

Answer 16

I was scared of them too, up until about a week ago. I was terrified to ride this roller coaster at cedar Point. my friend convinced me to go on, and now I love roller coasters. The best way to get rid of the fear is to just try one. ( start with smaller scale ones first.) I can guarantee you, u will love them!

Answer 17

I'm 11 and I went on my first up side down roller ocaster 3 weeks ago. Remind her that it's so so short you don't have time to be scared. Don't push her too uch. Remind her that many people younger than the age of ten go on roller coasters.

Answer 18

Oh my gosh! I'm 13 and just started getting over my fear yesterday (7/17/08)!

HOW:

Start by going on a small one then a small woody (since they only shake you up a bit)

AND I haven't been on a rollercoaster since I was 4. SO its a pretty good jump! And it worked for me and I'm a person who really works myself up about stuff easily.

Answer 19

That's so funny you asked this question. I just took my 11 yo cousin on her first roller coaster ride! She was so scared. Here's what we did to overcome the fear.

1. We watched the roller coaster going around with people on it..I told her to notice how all the people were happy

2. We went to the line (I told her we could leave anytime) and saw all the small children waiting to ride the ride..I told her if a small kid could do it, she'd be safe

3. I offered to sit next to her during the ride. I told her she could hold my hand

4. We timed the ride before going on..It was 1.5 minutes..seems less scary when you know how short it is.

She went on & loved it!! We even bought a snapshot of us on it! She can't wait to go again

Good Luck

Answer 20

It's easy to start on the smaller rides, and get her used to the adrenaline pumping, because thats what shes scared of--- the adrenaline rush. Once you start getting used to the feeling in the stomach you can slowly work your way up.

If you don't ride rides again for a long time, that tolerance might go away again.

Answer 21

make it as fun as possible

dont scream

im not really sure how you can get rid of it though

my sister is 18

we have gone to florida (alot of very big rollercoasters there) 7 times since we were small children

she has never lost the fear of it and i dont think she ever will

has she ever ridden one before is she hasnt then she doesnt know what to expect

try to get as close to the front as possible but not at the front!

this way you wont get thrashed around at the back

if she has ridden a rollercoaster before then to be honest i dont think she will like it

but its worth a try.

Try taking her on one that only has the bar across your legs first

if it only has the bar you know it wont go up side down maybe that is her fear

Answer 22

It sounds like it's something you want more than her.

Sometimes children who have a general distrust of things and people close to them have an even weaker trust for things they know are meant to be exhilarating. If your family is tight, Mom loves Dad and Dad loves Mom, family life is harmonious, the child is sleeping well, etc. just give it time.

Some people never get there. Just keep loving the child and encouraging her in all things good. She'll go when she's ready.

Answer 23

I'm 13, and I'm petrified of rollar coasters. I'm always thinking what if this turns out to be the I in a 1 million chance it flys off the track and everyone dies! And I can't stand the feeling of my stomach being above my head. I HATE ROLLAR COASTERS!

Answer 24

if you want just say it's not going to go upside down and tell them that they can sit next to whoever they feel more comfortable with. my mom used to lie to me cuz i was afraid of the ones that went upside down...she said there was only one loop and i had to go on it. then when there was another loop she would just be like "I LIED!!!!" it sucked but now i'll go on almost rollercoaster.

Answer 25

just make her go on it, shell hate you then but after, shell love you. ive been through this before. theres no other approach. atually, what a quinkydink, my 11 year old cousin hated them to...haha weird, and we went to six flags and made him ride the raging bull, he cried on the way up but then thanked us for making him go on. and wanted to go again.

good luck :]]

Answer 26

Well, I'm just speaking as someone else who is TERRIFIED of rollercoasters, and I'm 24! Haha. First of all, don't make her get on the scariest one unless she has already gone on others and WANTS to go on the scariest one. Start with something not like a kiddy ride, but maybe like the smallest coaster in the park. Make sure it is one where you sit side by side so she can hold your hand / grab on to you whatever. Tell her it's fine to keep your eyes closed the whole time, it makes it a bit less scarier and once you get less scared you can open your eyes. I would also ask if its the heights or speed that scare her. Like, for me, I'm mostly scared of the heights not the speed  so it works for me to get on something like the Disney coasters where it just goes really fast in spirals instead of big drops.

Good luck!

Answer 27

Okay, after she does it once, she will be fine! Just tell her to close her eyes, and don't think about it. Just dont look down or up or whatever. Try baby ones at first and then older ones. Once it's over she will be like "Can I go on again?!?"

Answer 28

Give her time. Put her on the smaller rollercoasters and make your way up. If you start her on the biggest first, she'll be too freaked out to go on the smaller ones.

I'm all about Roller Coasters now. I wasn't a few years ago. I've ridden some of the tallest roller coasters in the world without any fear. My dad worked me up to the point.

Good Luck and Have Fun!

Answer 29

I was afraid of riding roller coasters till about last year when all of my friends went on and i was to afraid to. I didn't want to be left out so i just went. Now you can't get me off them. My friend told me if the worst thing that could happen is you won't like it in the end and that it would be almost impossible for you to go hurt on one. everyone you are with should go on and the 11 year old will want to too.

Answer 30

I know from experience this works! when i was in 5th grade i STILL had a fear of roller coasters so my best friend took me to an amusement park and all i had to do was get on a ride and if i was scared I'd distract myself! if you can get them on the ride, tell them to not to think about what's coming the first time so they get the feel for it. have them play with their hair or think about what else is going on or how excited they are do be there with you and then when you get off, they think: WOW! that wasn't so bad! lets do it again! and that's how i got over my fear of roller coasters and now i absolutely LOVE them!

Answer 31

Defiantly see if you can get a book on Cognitive behavioural therapy its not phyco therapy or anything its just a usefully tool to make you think differently about stuff or just read up on the internet its basically designed for fears and phobias and it has a complicated name and sounds serious but its not its easy way to talk to some one understand why they act a certain way to some thing and help them see it calmly works on kids or adults