Number of posts : 2738 Age : 62 Location : Arizona, USA Favorite Quote : Beware the deadly donkey falling from the sky You may choose the way you live, my friend But not the way you die Registration date : 2007-08-11
Helping Children Overcome Fear of the Dark & Other Bed Time Fears Given the active imagination of a young child, bedtime fears are very common. Everything is fine until you turn the lights out and suddenly a cherished stuffed animal becomes a wild and scary wilder-beast . Rosie has recently developed a lot of bedtime anxiety. I have been trying to come up with ways to alleviate her fears while still acknowledging them and expressing to her that they are valid. We have been doing a lot of monster activities and that has been helping a lot but not quite enough. So I turned to my readers yet again for tips and strategies that might help. The responses were SO HELPFUL I wanted to compile them here for others who's children are struggling with similar fears.
Help children overcome fear of the dark and other bedtime fears with these helpful tips:
~ Monster Spray- several readers recommended making a magical monster spray that gets rid of all the monsters when sprayed. I had never heard of this before and loved the idea! It acknowledges the child's fears as real and provides a seemingly real solution to the fear.
Making your own monster spray is simple. We purchased a spray bottle at The Dollar Tree. Then I made a cute lable for it and filled it with water. I did not add any scent to ours but you could add lavender which helps soothe children to sleep or any other scent you might like. All you really need is water for this trick to work. We have been spritzing the monster spray under Rosie's bed each night and this has helped A LOT!
~ A light source- many readers recommended different light sources. Whether it be a standard night light, a portable LED light or a tap light the child can hold and sleep with, a light source would surely help alleviate night time fears, especially a fear of the dark.
~ A monster alarm or bell that will go off when a monster is near- I loved this idea! Putting an alarm in the child's room gives them reassurance that if a monster is near mom or dad will be made immediately aware and rush right in. This also acknowledges the child's fear rather then disregarding it or telling them their fear is not warranted. This is VERY important because to the child, their fear is 100% real! It is important to note that telling a child their is no such thing as monsters pushes their fear aside and makes them feel unheard and like their very real fears do not matter to you.
overcoming fear of the dark and other fears
~ Set monster traps- Coming up with and constructing a trap to catch monsters would be a fun project that actively involves the child. You could give them an array of materials and let them create their very own monster trap. I think this would be a lot of fun for the child and again, acknowledges their fears and provides a concrete solution.
~ A Magic Blanket- this was mentioned by a few readers. You could take any blanket and make it magical. You could take a Spider Man blanket and say that Spider Man will keep your little one safe or take a cherished purple blanet and say that monsters are afraid of purple and therefore, the blanket will keep them safe. As simple as this is I think it would work great! Just as easily as children believe in monsters they believe in magic.
~ The book Go Away, Big Green Monster by E Emberley - Go Away Big Green Monster is an interactive book where the child builds a monster and then makes it disappear. We do not have the book yet but have purchased it from Amazon and can't wait for it to arrive. If you are interested, you can purchase a copy here .
~ The Go Away Monster Game- the same lovely reader who recommended the book recommended this fun and interactive game for kids. The Go Away Monster Game gives children power over their fears as they rid their room of monsters.
We have not purchased this game yet but plan to if the other things we are implementing do not take care of Rosie's fears. If you are interested in purchasing the game you can find it on Amazon here.
~ A Magic Wand- give little ones a magic wand or saber to wave at any approaching monsters. This gives the child a sense of security and power over their fears.
~ Create a Special Monster Dance- I loved this idea and have implemented it in our home. Now before bed we do The Monster Stomp which stomps away the monsters. This is a silly little stomping dance but Rosie loves it and it seems to be helping a lot already!
~ Use play to ease your child's fears- we have been doing all sorts of monster activities to help show Rosie that monsters are fun and nothing to be afraid of. We went monster puddle stomping, made glow in the dark monster slime, and had a messy monster ball fight just to name a few. Another fun monster playtime that was shared by a reader was to have a monster tea party. How fun!
Overcome fear of the dark and other childhood fears
~ Favorite characters & music- Reassurance from a favorite character is a great way to help children overcome their fears. Here are a few songs that we have been playing for Rosie.