Bozophobia

You know what scares kids? Well, a lot of things can give kids a fright--Santa Claus, Easter Bunny, Halloween masks--but you know what really freaks kids out? Clowns. It’s ironic that the symbol of bigtop fun is toddlerhood’s worst nightmare, but it is. It does make sense though. Small people don’t know that clowns represent cotton candy, balloon animals and tiny cars filled with mime goodness. All they experience is giant red nose, grotesquely creepy overdrawn mouth, wild hair, baggy clothes, and a distinct invasion of their personal space. No wonder they get so upset. When Keilana was a toddler, her paternal grandmother (who was still trying to find her comfort zone as a grandparent) took the three grandchildren she had then to the circus for a special day. The idea was good in theory, but went a bit awry in practice. Apparently, one clown got too friendly for Keilana’s very strict personal boundaries and she lost her ever-loving mind. Fighting your way out of a full circus tent with a preschooler and two bawling two year-olds is not something even the most-seasoned baby wrangler wants to handle, let alone a nervous grandma. Keilana may have been young, but she was old enough to relate the story of her clown horror to anyone who would listen (and even some who didn’t) for months. It took years to recover. In Michael Bond’s Paddington Bear at the Circus, the little guy has a run-in with a clown. That’s the stuff of nightmares.

http://www.amazon.com/Paddington-Bear-Circus-Michael-Bond/dp/0060282134

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Bond