Russell’s Real Lives

Russell Hemmings Real Lives

Fear of flying - Leah takes to the sky


Flying can frighten the bravest amongst us. For children, this fear can sometimes be too much to bear. Having a fear of flying might not sound like a serious issue to some people – but it can have a detrimental effect on family life, as the parents of 11 year old Leah discovered.

“She had always been an okay flyer when she was younger,” recalls mum Ayesha. “It wasn’t until recently when we took a long-distance flight that she really became terrified. The flight was battered by turbulence – I think everyone on board was a bit scared, but Leah was absolutely traumatised. I remember her squeezing my hand so tightly that my fingers went numb.”

That experience set Leah down a path of fear. “She was still quite upset about the flight even a few weeks after it had happened. She really didn’t want to talk with us about it, but we could tell that it might have an impact on our next holiday as a family. And it did. When we told Leah that we were taking another trip abroad we thought she would be thrilled. Instead she became distraught; you could tell she was scared of taking another flight. We realised that we had to confront this issue head on. We enjoy our holidays as a family, and we really value giving our children great memories that they’ll one day treasure. Living in the Emirates is brilliant, but being able to fly is essential as we enjoy visiting lots of different parts of the world, some of which require a lot of travelling to get to! We didn’t want to push Leah to fly if she was afraid to, but we also knew that we had to find a way to help her through her fear.”

Thankfully, a solution presented itself. “I read about this amazing man in Friday Magazine,” remembers Ayesha. “His name was Russell Hemmings and he had worked closely with lots of children who weren’t confident flyers. I instantly knew that he could help my daughter.”

And now? “We took a flight to the Maldives for a holiday! We had such a fantastic holiday, and a big part of that was because we knew Leah had overcome her issue. She’s such a confident flyer now – her sessions with Russell really allowed her to push through her fear. I’m so proud of my daughter for overcoming her fears, and I’m so thankful to Russell for helping her do this. It was the first time she had stepped onto a plane since that fear inducing flight – I thought she might be apprehensive when we arrived at the airport but she wasn’t fazed at all. She just sat, waiting for our flight with a confident, quiet smile. I asked her if she had any doubts and she replied, “I’m just excited for the holiday.” I couldn’t have been happier. Thank you Russell”

Russell helped Leah with her fear of flying and he can help you and your family too. Please call to discover how.

Russell is a child & teen expert in Fears & phobias, confidence, concentration, social skills, perfectionism, laziness, gadget addiction, study focus, procrastination and time management.

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