29 Real-Life Childhood Fears That Will Make You Laugh

Somewhere out there is a kid who is deathly afraid of sprinkles.

We asked followers of the BuzzFeed Community to tell us the funniest things their children were afraid of. Here are the hilarious results.

1. Winnie the Pooh

Walt Disney Television

"My four-year-old has reoccurring nightmares that he is being beat up by Winnie The Pooh. He wakes up crying, 'Winnie the Pooh hit me and kicked me and bit me!'"

— EllieGriffis

2. Mannequins

Flickr: quinet / Via Creative Commons

"My three-year-old is terrified of mannequins. When he sees one in a store he repeats over and over, 'It's not real. I'm not scared.'"

— bt242

3. Sandwiches

Florida Orange Juicd / Via youtube.com

"My daughter is afraid of sandwiches. She will eat a piece of bread, but put two pieces together with anything in between and she starts screaming and backing away like it's a spider."

— heathercremeens625

4. "The Orange Man Who Watches Me At Night"

en.wikipedia.org / Via Creative Commons

"My four-year-old is terrified of 'the orange man who watches me at night.' The ''orange man' is a streetlight that he can see out his window. We have to keep his curtains closed or the orange man will watch him sleep."

— Lisam81

5. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

Universal

For many years my daughter swore E.T. lived in our garage, and refused to go into it by herself."

— marcypilandm

6. Stickers

Flickr: vblibrary / Via Creative Commons

"My son is afraid of stickers. His sisters will put stickers on his back where he can't reach them and then tell him they're there. He panics like you wouldn't believe."

— cassiea4a67c4f51

7. Mermaids

Disney

"I told my three-year-old daughter that if she didn't wear her little mermaid pajamas — we were out of any other clean ones — the mermaid fairy would come and turn her into a mermaid. She's been terrified of mermaids ever since."

— hollyf4142332b3

8. Mini-Me

New Line Cinema

"My little sister was absolutely terrified of Mini-Me from Austin Powers. She was convinced he lived under the bed."

— kristenh4758486b9

9. Automatic Flushing Toilets

Flickr: nnova / Via Creative Commons

"My daughter was scared of toilets that automatically flushed until she was five. She used to cry every time she needed to use a public restroom because she just knew the toilet would 'surprise' her."

— justsostephanie

10. Mr. Bluelight from Kmart

buzzfeed.com

"My son was three-years-old and needed to use the restroom at Kmart, so we made a bee-line to the restroom. As we rounded the corner we came face-to-face with Mr. Bluelight who reached out to my son for a hug. My boy screamed at the top of his lungs and still refuses to even look at anyone wearing a mascot-style costume five years later."

— shoberpants

11. Watermelons

Flickr: jrsnchzhrs / Via Creative Commons

"My son is terrified of watermelons. Every time we're at the grocery store he starts to shake."

— adriennem47d9d9719

12. Dave Thomas

Wendy's

"When my brother was little he was inexplicably afraid of Dave Thomas, the guy from Wendy's. No one knows why he developed this overwhelming fear, but it was convenient as we'd pretend to call Dave whenever he was misbehaving and threaten to invite him over."

— libbya48279c9b8

13. The "Happy Birthday" Song

Flickr: edenpictures / Via Creative Commons

"My son was terrified any time he heard the 'Happy Birthday' song. We couldn't sing it at his birthday for several years. He used to suggest we sing cartoon theme songs instead."

— jodig43a583f5c

14. The Ghost of Lee Harvey Oswald

commons.wikimedia.org / Via Creative Commons

"My 10-year-old watched a documentary on J.F.K. with his step-dad. To this day, two years later, he won't go upstairs by himself because he thinks the ghost of Lee Harvey Oswald is going to get him."

— racheldillonw

15. Buttons

Flickr: 76283671@N00 / Via Creative Commons

"My four-year-old son is afraid of buttons. My husband and I have to both hold him down in order to get a shirt on him."

— kristenkelekian

16. Zhu Zhu Pets

Cepia LLC

"Remember Zhu Zhu Pets, those dumb electronic hamsters people went berserk for about five years ago? Well, my oldest daughter would just short of pass out from fear if one was near her. It didn't even have to be on, she was just petrified."

— MissAlex

17. Sprinkles

en.wikipedia.org / Via Creative Commons

"When my daughter was three-years-old she would wake up screaming and tell me it was because she was afraid of sprinkles."

— rhondav4a92ddb4c

18. Butterflies

Flickr: infomastern / Via Creative Commons

"My daughter was terrified of butterflies for quite a few years. I took her to a butterfly sanctuary one afternoon and today she still talks about the butterfly hell she endured all those years ago."

— Teamelm427

19. Napkins

Flickr: edkohler / Via Creative Commons

"My daughter was afraid of napkins. If someone put one next to her she would immediately run away from the table."

— colleent46e02e097

20. Leaves

Flickr: oregondot / Via Creative Commons

"I have three-year-old twins who both have a fear of leaves. If there is a leaf on the ground they will do everything possible to walk the opposite direction. My daughter won't even come close to it. She will stand there and cry until I pick her up."

— cheechj04

21. Adam Sandler

Universal

"My three-year-old is scared of Adam Sandler. Smh."

— marcosmommy

22. Balloons

Flickr: nicoleabalde / Via Creative Commons

"When my son was about 18-months-old he picked out a 'happy face' foil balloon as a treat. When he went to bed that night, I put the balloon in his room so he wouldn't worry about where it was when he woke up. Suddenly, in the middle of the night, I heard a scream of terror and ran in to find him bolt upright, eyes wide as plates.

The fan had blown his now party-deflated balloon next to his pillow where it leered at him with a weird, distorted smile."

— Katherine Handcock, Facebook

23. Michael Jackson's Ghost

Epic

My then eight-year-old son was afraid of Michael Jackson's ghost, which, according to my son, only haunted little kids."

— Caroline Horspool Brockes, Facebook

24. Dolls

pixabay.com / Via Creative Commons

"My kids were afraid of dolls. I found this out one day when I brought a doll up from the basement (for the umpteenth time) and my son asked in a worried voice, 'Mommy? How does that doll keep getting back up here?'"

— Ilse Nightwalker, Facebook

25. Shia LaBeouf

commons.wikimedia.org / Via Creative Commons

"My daughter is absolutely terrified of Shia LaBeouf. We can't even say his name around her."

— Jordan Wilson, Facebook

26. Moths

Flickr: lavandarfields / Via Creative Commons

"My daughter was so freaked out by moths that she would drop, cover her head, and belly crawl out of the room. I have no idea why."

— Sarah Scott Blankenship, Facebook

27. Santa Claus

Flickr: europedistrict / Via Creative Commons

"My step daughter used to wake up in the middle of the night terrified that Santa Clause was coming to eat her toes."

— Rachel Riley Summerlyn, Facebook

28. Bagpipes

Flickr: ledgard / Via Creative Commons

"This will sound crazy but my son has a deep fear of bagpipes. We have no idea how this happened but you cannot even say the word without tears flowing."

— Brian Marcus, Facebook

29. Losing Teeth

Flickr: bolsh / Via Creative Commons

"My daughter received a Tooth Fairy box from her grandma when she was four-years-old, which made her TERRIFIED that she was going to lose her teeth. She brushed multiple times a day and cried during the whole process. It lasted about 6 months. She's now 22 and has excellent oral hygiene."

— Amy E