Monsters in the Bedroom

I have a family friend who had her husband and son plan a "monster hunt." They put on camoflauge and her husband got a big trash bag (empty). He had their son stand quite a ways away from the closet while he went in with a flashlight and had a mock struggle. When he came out, the trash bag was stuffed with pillows and blankets, and he hauled it out, pretending the monster was in the bag. Then he took it to the front door, threw it out in the yard and yelled "And STAY OUT!!" and slammed the door behind him. My friend's son is in his 30's now and was never scared of monsters again! Might work, might not, but it would be so fun, right? :) If nothing else, you could watch Monsters, Inc. with him and see if that quells any fears. Good luck!

What I have done with my daughter who is also quite imaginative is tell her to say to the monsters "monster.. you go home!! Your mommy is worried about you and you need to go home and go to sleep!!" it seems to work for us maybe you could give that a try. Good luck! M.

When we re-painted the boys room, we told them we added a special additive to the paint that is a monster and ghost repellent. It worked great. Of course we had painted the whole inside of the house, so told them that it was all safe. Used it on the outside also. When we painted out there. So we are all safe for a long time, like 10 years, and by that time they are older or will have forgotten that they needed the repellent in the first place.
GIGGLE, what we parents come up with.
L.

Give him a water bottle of "RID A MONSTER" Spray and a flash light. You can also try to give him something special that will get rid of monsters. Hope this helps! Good Luck!

We had this discussion in our preschool group in May. Monster Spray. Get a water bottle and before you go to bed you spray the water around the room and its Monster Repellant. Monsters will die as soon as they get to the spray.

Good luck!

Believe it or not, my husband still suffers from "monsters" in the room. But in his case, it's actually a medical condition called "sleep paralysis". What happens to him is the switch in his brain that shuts down his motor skills while he sleeps doesn't always flip back "on" when he wakes up at night or early morning. (This is the same switch that keeps us from walking around and acting out our dreams in our sleep.) Basically, it's the polar opposite to sleep walking. For my husband, he'll be in the early stages of waking when he feels that there is someone in the room - sometimes he "feels" they are there without opening his eyes, sometimes he'll be able to open his eyes and actually see a shadow in the room or even hovering over him, and sometimes it's just weird noises that he hears (like heavy breathing or whatnot). Now that he's an adult, he knows exactly what's going on and can usually "snap" himself out of it, but there are some instances where I wake to hear him moaning horribly, which means he hasn't "snapped" out of it, so I just put my arm around him and repeat in a whisper, "it's okay, I'm right here". He, like your son, wakes up very upset and literally shaking. As you can imagine, when he was a child, this was a horrifying experience for him and he was one of those kids who fought bedtime constantly. Some of my husband's triggers are stress, poor diet, etc. For your son, I would suggest keeping to your bedtime routine whenever possible, maybe even start earlier in the evening by dimming the lights in the house and reducing the stimulation for your son. Try to wind him down with reading books in dim lights or a warm bath. Try some of the suggestions the other moms have. If he's suffering from sleep paralysis (i.e. this continues off and on for an extended period), you might try talking to his pediatrician and maybe a consult with a sleep specialist.

Hi A.,

In the past, I've used "monster spray", but it was a lavendar room spray. Perhaps also a fan in his room and let him know that the fans will blow the monsters away .. and the white noise may help him not focus on the other sounds of the house.

My 2.5 y/o DD is going through the same phase right now! My DH and I are absolutley exhausted! I am curious to see your responses on this issue so we can both get some sleep here. LOL!! Our poor babies! I remember being terrified of monsters when I was young, it's very, very scary to a young child. I hope your little one over comes the issue. I am and looks like other mom's here are right there with you.

Good Luck:)
B.

This to shall pass....
I have a daughter that had night terrors just about 5 or 6, it was so bad, we sometimes ended up a little scared along with her. Her pedi told us that she was a very sensitive and creative child...through the years he has been proven correct. His recommendation was to acknoledge her active imagination, to let her paint, draw, act, dance, sing. we also share with our child Christian belives, prayer and talking to God. We also paired her with her brother in a bedroom and bunk beds. That helped a lot, since she started sleeping better. Sometimes we even let the dog sleep with then in the bedroom rug. 'Til one night both my kids came and assured me that they have seen an angel in one of the empty bedrooms, so we closed the door...We acknowledge that this was actually a good sign, and that they both needed not to be afraid of angels. They were here to protect us all.
My child grew up out of those nasty night terrors, but later as a teenager she was diagnosed with depression. her night terrors kept me through the years keeping an extra eye on her....a mom instinct, maybe. So at the first symptoms of depression she was evaluated and we got the best therapist and psychiatrist we could find. After a year of intervention and some meds she is doing great and thriving. She continues to be very imaginative and creative as ever, in the Fall she'd be going to NY to continue education for a Theater arts major and a minor in musical theater....she is a beautiful, kind and delighful young lady.

...the angel stills pops-up once in a while. They remember vividly that the angel was at the window from the inside and pointing to a friends house that lived across the street. When I came to verify the their story
the window was still opened (from the night before) and the sheer sheets when swinging gently with abright moon behind it. I still remembered the angel story... and i could not convience any of them to be otherwise!

I too have a 3 yr old going through this phase! We didn't make "monster" spray, but we did make "Magic" spray - its used for "happy thoughts and good dreams" - I didn't want to call it Monster spray b/c I felt that was admitting they exist... and that might bring more problems and not be the truth. I have spent a few nights in the past weeks sitting with her till she falls alseep or leaving and checking back with her numerous times...all I can say is it too will pass.
I do know that you're not supposed to just 'dismiss' it b/c to them the fear is VERY real!
Good Luck!

My daughter went through this as well. We were told about the book, "Go Away Big Green Monster!" by Emberley. We read it constantly and now knows to say "Go Away".

I think this is common around this age. My son did this at 3 and I was pregnant with baby sis at the time. His monsters were in the closet. For about a month I would get up and carry my stick (it was for broomstick lace) and I would go to his closet, open the door and beat the clothes in the closet. I would ask if I got them all and he would say yes or no and I would do it again. Then close the door and he would go back to sleep. This phase too shall pass. You could make up the "monster spray" as suggested by other moms. Good luck. The other S.

Well we always have told the truth in our home and even in the case of all the pretend scary stuff honesty seems to have worked. I really tried to explain and teach the what's real and what's pretend thing. Children have wild imaginations and it's ok to pretend but they need guidance in this area just like any other. I don't think that playing into the fear with monster spray and stories though some families do is a good idea. I would talk about examples of what is pretend and what is real. Maybe take a look at an apple and compare in to a super hero, stuff like that. You usually don't have to get too deep about it once they start to understand the concept. In time they just ask and they know that you are telling them truth. For now I think that I good night light in his room may help and maybe keep the door wide open if it's not already. You have to both validate the fear and not make too much of a big deal out of him being scared or it could make it worse than it is. And of course really watch his exposer to wild and crazy stuff on the tube and in any conversations that he might hear (If your not already). This is an age when they are (sadly) becoming aware that not all things are safe and good.
And it's kind of scary and new to open up too. But with your guidance he will be fine.
Best regards and hope you all get a good nights sleep soon.
C.

My son is scared of the monsters too. We have some cute play monster puppets and toys and so we started using the word "monster" for positive things, so he isn't as scared as before.

We also check the room with him, say a little prayer with him that he will be safe and leave his nightlight on.

It's impossible to realize how often kids get exposed to monsters, as toys, on cartoons, movie trailers, commercials... we couldn't figure out where he was hearing about monsters until we started paying attention to what was on. We are a lot more careful now.

I remember being absolutely terrified of monsters and such when I was younger. It haunted me for many years and so I take it seriously when my son is scared.

Also, look around the room when it is dark to see what he sees. Does he have a mobile, toy on a shelf or poster that could make scary shadows at night? We realized my son was scared of the shadows from a tree through the window, so we got him heavier curtains and now outside shadows don't scare him. We also took down a lot of the things on his walls and cleared corners for less shadows and "hiding spaces". (I have to do this with my husband too becuase he is a severe sleepwalker)!

As a side note, keeping a bedroom door wide open at night can be dangerous if there were ever a fire or heavy smoke, so we keep all doors shut.