My son has been sleeping in his own bed, by himself no problems. Now all of the sudden he started coming into our bed every night. When I ask him in the morning about why he came, he says that he's afraid of monsters. How do I stop this?
I tried the spray bottle and so far it's been working! We spray a little before we go to bed and he's sleeping through the night. Thank you!
Do you have an empty spray bottle? Put plain water and vinegar in it. Tell your son that it's monster repellant. Make a ritual of spraying any place that he says has monsters. You can even make up a rhyme to make the monsters go away. You can even have him help decorate the bottle. Hopefully that will help.
I used the spray bottle with my oldest when she was little the only thing I did differently was I used fabric freshener instead of vinager. I printed it's own cute lable for the bottle. And,the nice thing was she stayed in bed, I got some sleep and her room always smelt great.
Hi Yvette,
My 5-year-old daughter does this too. But she only does it in the fall & winter when it's dark early. Weird, isn't it?
I just tell her there are no monsters and that she needs to sleep in her bed.
But...usually...I give in. Just because I'm too tired to argue and it doesn't happen often. Haha!
I have had friends who put a sleeping bag on the floor next to their bed too.
Good luck!
M.
I take the logic approach, like one of the other mothers said. My daughter who's 5 has done this a few times. I just went into her room and asked her "Are monsters real?" Then when she said "no", I asked her "well then why are you pretending to be afraid of them?" I think that kids will come up with just about any excuses for them to get out of bed, and if they find one that works, they'll stick with it. I think that the spray idea is cute, but I think that you're setting yourself up for having to "monster spray" every night for the next few years. Plus, it's great to feed your child's imagination, but in a productive way, not in a way that creates and allows fear. If I ever am called into Aryana's room, I'll ask her what's wrong, and if it's a shadow or something, I shine a flashlight at it and explain to her that things look different at night, but that doesn't mean that they're scary. It's the same things that are in her room during the day, but the lights from her nightlights cast their own shadows. If you explain things logically, the problem will stop. Kids are extremely smart!
My husband read somewhere that you should offer sleep in your child's room when he/she is scared so they learnsto feel comfortable in their own room. We haven't had to try it yet, but it makes sense.
Good Luck,
K.
When I first read your "what happened" post without reading the others, I thought you meant to keep the spray bottle with you and squirt the kid if he tried to get in bed, ha, ha!! Shows how I think, huh? I think it's a fine idea to use a little ritual like monster spray to deal with fears. Kids know that it isn't real, but they don t kn ow how else to express anxiety, so they need reassurance that they're safe and cared for. Whatever gets you the most sleep, go for it!!
