Bedtime Outbursts

My 3 year old started this with being afraid of "spooky things" that he claimed were in his room - anything from crabs to elephants to an old thumb-tack hole on the wall... I have a perfume of mine that we use together to "spray" the spookies away. We say, "Be gone spooky _______!" and spritz the perfume into the air. I read this somewhere and thought there was no way it would work and it TOTALLY did! It think the fact that it is my perfume helps also because it is a familiar comforting smell that he can smell in the air until he falls asleep. Also maybe with the window you guys could make an event of going to the store and letting him pick out some cute new curtains for the window to "de-spooky" it. I am freaked out by windows at night myself and if I can see even a couple inches of it I have to get up and move the blinds so that it is covered. Good luck!! :)

i feel for you. i know how it feels to have kids that are afraid of their rooms. my son and youngest daughter both will not sleep in their rooms. my son who is 8 started off sleeping with me..yeah i know bad idea lol but i was a single parent and it was more convient since he had colic when he was a baby. anywho my youngest who is 5 was a really good baby. at 6mons she was started sleeping thru the night..which really freaked me out lol..it wasn't until we had to move into a 2 bedroom apartment while we waited for housing that things went crazy. my son since birth slept with me so when i said no more he moved in with his oldest sister or slept in the living room. the youngest would sleep with us, in the living room or with big sister. so anyways my husband and i got really tired of the kids just sleeping whereever so we started making them sleep in their own rooms. it was hell they cried and screamed but finally they went to sleep. on some ocassions they would wake up and sneak to a bed so we would just pick them up and put them back where they belong. we tried everything before this. i bought different kinds of neat night lights from a tinkerbell spinning one to a jiggle head spinning cat lamp to the glad light show scented oil night light. we even went as far as to go out and buy another baby toy thing that plays music or has different nature sounds, it has fish that move and lights as well.
the only one thing that worked was making them stay in their beds. i know it sounds cruel but once they figured out they can't manipulate you anymore then they stop.
i hope this helps you
C.

Hi,
Best thing is take him someplace where theres a lot of kids to play with like a park where he can meet other kids or Mc donald play area get him tired, walk around your area meet some neighbor with kids socializing with other kids help them so do you and at bedtime read him some nice books and even a warm mild at bedtime is not a bad idea.

Hi A..
My oldest daughter, now almost 5, went through the same thing at about your sons age. What worked for us, is I picked up one of her stuffed animals one night and told her that "Cubby" would keep any monsters/boogies away. He was her protector in her room with her at all times. Mommy & Daddy were just down the hall but he would stay with her and keep her company. You know, I couldn't believe it, but it worked! She took Cubby with her everywhere after that, and even to daycare. She is out growing Cubby a little bit now and not as dependent on him as she was but he is still very special and whenever she goes to the doctor or some place she is not familiar with cubby is always right there with us. Try not to worry, this too shall pass!
Take care,
K.

Redecorate his room with him, let him pick the colors and theme (within reason). Make it his space that he enjoys being in.
I also have a 3 1/2 strong willed child, mine is a Daughter, but strong willed none the less.
Best of Luck.