Work with your little ones with a smaller version of the umbrella out in the yard when they are far off. Treat them every time you open it. Keep doing that until you can open it nearer and nearer them as they get very tasty boiled chicken or some other nice treat. Repeat the same thing in the house, starting to open it in the doorway of the room they are in and eventually moving closer with treats on each and every opening.
Segue to the big umbrella in time. If you slowly work up to it, they come to accept it. Tibbe is not thrilled with it but it keeps him - and me - safe. I figure even if it does scare him during an incident, the scare is far less than if a big dog gets at him.
__________________  Jeanie and Tibbe One must do the best one can. You may get some marks for a very imperfect answer: you will certainly get none for leaving the question alone. C. S. Lewis |