Toby is going through that phase where he is sorting out what is real and what is imaginary. At the moment the line in fairly blurred. For the last few nights he has woken up crying, believing there are monsters under his bed, or creepy crawlies in his sheets. The dreams must seem very real to him because he is so upset when he wakes, and doesn’t seem to understand that he was dreaming
Last night he woke up crying because he thought there were snakes in his bed. He was talking incoherently about Hannah’s close encounter with a snake, and was sure that there were more inside. It took quite a lot of convincing him that there were no snakes (not to mention lots of cuddles) before he went back to sleep.
I don’t remember the girls going through this phase. Perhaps they had the odd night where something scared them, but I don’t remember anything that was more than a night. Toby has been regularly upset at the same time each night for a few weeks. Fortunately he doesn’t remember them in the morning.
Linking up with Essentially Jess for IBOT
I also tried that spray idea before and it worked like a charm. That solved our "monsters under the bed" problem. I drew a little anti-monster sticker for the sprayer and it's really working great. It might work for you. 🙂
I hear your plight Jo. My 8.5 yo daughter is still going through it. She wasn't so afraid when she was younger but just lately its really becoming a problem. Just when I think I should take her to see someone, she has a couple good nights in a row and then it goes back to running into my room at some ungodly hour or she goes into her brother's room. I understand that her fears are real but what I've been doing is speaking to her logically about it in the light of day. Explaining about the doors being locked, how I wouldn't let anything happen to her, explaining special effects and makeup in movies. I'm hoping she'll outgrow it. I can remember being a little scared at the same age but Mum used to just say don't be silly. I don't want her to think she's silly for being afraid. Fingers crossed. Thinking of you.
Anne xx
The spray sounds like a good idea. My son used to have night terrors when he was little, horrible. I found taking him to the toilet helped him wake up properly. I haven't had any problems with the girls and nightmares yet, fingers crossed. I hope he sleeps through without scary dreams soon.
Ps I love the lavender monster spray idea
I've not had to go through it with my daughter either but I remember very well being afraid of monsters and all sorts of things (snakes too) when I was a kid … I guess I grew out of it because it never harmed me – mum would always come in, settle me … I just took my daughter to see monster university on the weekend. It was very funny and I loved the concept of these cute creatures trying to scare kids. It might be just a wee bit old for yr babe but certainly worth checking out becauEith believe the maker's philosophy was to make kids laugh and stop them from being scared. Good luck kimxx
When my kids were smaller, I made a 'Monster Spray' – just a cheap spray bottle filled with water and a little bit of lavender essential oil (or use your favourite), just to give it a scent. Before bedtime my son would spray under the bed and inside his cupboard to get rid of monsters. We also shopped for a native American dreamcatcher to hang above his bed, to get rid of bad dreams. We didn't have any more nightmares or monster infestations after that!
That's a tough one. You could pretend with a wand or fairy dust to sprinkle across the room at night to keep the monsters away. Or get a dream catcher and it might help psychologically. #teamIBOT
Poor kid. I remember my mother sweeping a river out of my brother's wardrobe. She had to leave the broom in the room so it was easily accessible.