She covers her ears at birthday parties, and now at the school's welcome assembly too

banyan_puzzle_109322 Jun 2026

Our daughter is in UKG. For a year or so she has covered her ears whenever there's loud music, birthday parties, the drums at a wedding, the hand dryers at the mall. She's otherwise happy to be there, she just keeps her hands up. This week the school had a welcome assembly with drums and the new teacher said she refused to go in and sat with the ayah outside. The teacher mentioned it kindly, but she did mention it. I'm trying to understand what's usual here. Do I send her with ear muffs? Do I tell the teacher it's a known thing? Is this something to bring up with her paediatrician, or am I making it bigger than it is?

4 comments

mango_gecko_477022 Jun 2026
Ours is 9 months so I'm reading this for later. Is it every loud sound or only some? Music and drums are a different kind of loud from a pressure cooker or a mixie. Our son ignores one and hates the other.
- bronze_balcony_751122 Jun 2026
  That's a useful way to split it. Ours sleeps through the cooker whistle and cries at clapping. No idea yet what that means, if anything.
olive_tiffin_81022 Jun 2026
Telling the teacher seems kind more than anything else. She'll see it at every assembly anyway, and it's better she hears it from you, along with what helps, than works it out herself.
coral_sandal_741623 Jun 2026
Ear muffs at a party, fine. Ear muffs every day at school I'd want to understand first. Has anyone asked her what bothers her about it?
- banyan_puzzle_109323 Jun 2026
  I asked last night. She said 'the drums go inside my tummy'. Which is a fair description, I think.
pebble_river_83723 Jun 2026
A colleague's son wore ear defenders at every function until he was about 7 and then one day just stopped needing them. If it worries you, mention it at her next regular check-up so it's on record. A paediatrician can tell you whether it's worth looking into, which none of us here can.