Store "lights"

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-24-2004
Store "lights"
15
Mon, 02-20-2006 - 4:36pm

I was planning on going to the grocery store today. But the boys wanted to go to the toy store. I told them that if we went to the toy store...we would then go to the grocery store before we came home. Nathan, of course, did not like this idea. I was going to go anyway, but......

Right as Nathan was finishing up lunch, he spilled his juice. And went into a complete meltdown!!!! Sooooo, it took me awhile to calm him down and wipe up the mess. And I've decided that it would be best to stay home now.

Anyway, back to my post! I asked Nathan why he didn't like going to the stores. Is it too loud, or is it the lights? Do the lights bother you? (I hear about the lights being bright and humming, but he's never mentioned this, so I thought I'd ask) As he was eating, he said, "it's too loud!", then he kinda blinks his eyes and covers them lightly with one hand, and says, "and the lights." So I asked, "what do the lights do to you? why don't you like them?" And he says, "they burn....my eyes."

I DID NOT KNOW THIS. It's so amazing how he always does this. I get bits and pieces of info from him. I learn something about him all the time. He's never told me that he doesn't like the lights. And I have mentioned them before. He says it's all the stores, no store in particular. But home and school are fine. Interesting, hhmm.....

michelle

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iVillage Member
Registered: 10-03-2004
Tue, 02-21-2006 - 10:00pm

Well, I hate shopping in big stores, period. Lights, bumping into people, salespeople, can't really comfortably look at things, pressure, muzak, AUGH!!! And Malcolm also hates it. I do let him wear cool sunglasses sometimes, like you, Paula. Actually, Malcolm almost always has a Yankees or Mets hat on. Usually the hat is enough in stores. We also always carry headsets -- actually I am getting him an MP3 player soon -- so he always has the option to relax to his music. BTW, Malcolm also hates bright sunlight and being too hot in summer, this was a problem for him at Day Camp last summer.

Sometimes, when there is just nothing for it and I must go to big horrible stores with him in tow and do serious shopping ... well, then I let him sit in one of those carts with his sunglasses, hat and headsets with cool music on and I push him around. If anyone says squat to me about that big boy not walking, I say something back, like "This is necessary, thank you..." with a NYC edge to voice and usually they back off.

But best is to not bring him, farm him off to playdate, shop in middle of night... Better yet would be if I didn't have to go either.

Sara
ilovemalcolm

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-25-2003
Wed, 02-22-2006 - 9:05am

LR,

I have never met another person who sneezes in sunlight. (technically I have never met you either, but nevermind)

DH and Peter both do it. DD and I do not.

I wonder if it is genetic? Peter was only a few days old when I first noticed it. -Actually DH alertind me: "Cover his eyes! Can't you see the sun is making him sneeze?" I had been trying to feel his temp, because I though he might be coming down with a cold.

-Paula

-Paula

visit my blog at www.onesickmother.com
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-31-2003
Wed, 02-22-2006 - 9:58am

Same here about the sneezing in sunlight -- DH does it, and I don't. Both my kids sneeze in sunlight -- I'm sure there's a genetic component. Also, DH gets migraines that are often triggered by bright light, which makes me think there's a definite link there...

Jennifer

Avatar for littleroses
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-28-2003
Wed, 02-22-2006 - 10:36am

Lisa, that was a good to think of migraines.

Katherine, you cracked me up pretty good on the Michael Jackson comment. Now I will have to try very hard not to laugh when I see her do it again because I'll be envisioning her being shielded from the paparrazi. On the other hand...what a GREAT comeback to tell passerbys now. "Shhhhhh, there's papparazzi in the bushes over there...don't give us up, okay?" LOL

Paula, a couple of years ago or so, I read a blurb in Discover magazine that sneezing in sunlight was genetic. I about fell over reading that because I thought EVERYONE had sunlight sneezes. I never even thought it was different. What's really weird is that I cannot complete a sneeze without sunlight and almost crave looking for the light so I CAN sneeze. If I turn my head (or my eyes rather) a certain way, I can coax a certain light out of a regular lightbulb to have the same effect. When I think about it, it sounds like a similiar mechanism my daughter uses to avoid sunlight so she can see. Although I'm only guessing, because I have no idea how she sees, of course. I wonder if she is also "coaxing" a certain ray of light to see and that's why she's using her peripheral vision.

Jennifer, it's interesting that certain lights can trigger migraines for your DH. My mom always suffered from terrible migraines which she also claimed could be triggered by certain light. I never thought to associate my "sunlight sneezing" in relation to her migraines. Although she has other triggers as well. She was diagnosed type II diabetes later in life and she said migraines greatly diminished when she got control of her diabetes.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Wed, 02-22-2006 - 12:57pm

Son is very sensitive to bright lights: especially summer sunlight. He hates sunglasses - claims they feel tight around his head (even if they are extremely loose). He hasn't complained in stores - he actually likes to go grocery shopping with me (I'm not to fond of it - I just want to get in and out - not easy when you are dragging two kids in tow).

Brother sneezes in sunlight - he actually claims that if he feels a sneeze coming on, he can look into any type light and it helps him sneeze. Our grandfather sneezed every time he walked out his front door.

I'm the one who suffers from migraines (so does my dad). Both of us have several triggers - one is bright lights (I don't always get a migraine from them but if there are other factors like strong smells like perfume or smoke, there is more of a chance I will get a migraine.

Christie

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