Daughters Sudden Fear of "Snakes" at Bed Time .....

She could have seen a snake outside, seen one on a cartoon (even a not scary one) or in a book. That being said, her fear of snakes is probably very real even though you may tell her that there are no snakes.

When my daughter makes comments about monsters or anything I think scares her, I just tell her in a happy voice "I'll tell him NO THANK YOU" if she says he's going to get her. Or I'll say "Oh the silly monster? He's just pretend." Another idea would be to get a spray water bottle and fill it with 'snake juice' which makes the snakes want to go home to their mommy's. Don't ignore it - talk to her about it and explain what dreams are - as she may be dreaming about them. Dreams may not be real but kids feel that they are.

Make sure she sleeps with a teddy bear or stuffed animal because 'snakes don't like them and won't come near you.'

Good luck!

My son woke up screaming in the middle of the night a few weeks ago, saying that snakes wanted to come get him.
The next night, he wanted to sleep in our bed because he was scared of snakes in his own room/bed.
I asked him, "what do the snakes do at night" and he answered that they are sleeping. On day time, he loves and his fascinated by snakes. He knows they don't like cold... So I told him, yes, they are sleeping. How do they do. And he began snoring loudly, how he thinks snakes do sleep. He thought it was funny, laught a lot of snakes and that was it for this fear.

But, for others (monsters...), I will follow my sister's lead (and the advice below) and have a "monster spray bottle" ready. At this young age, they cannot be reasoned into "monsters aren't real". For a toddler, Santa Claus and Dora are more real than the uncle who lives 6 hours away and that see a couple of times a year. So, it's good to fight magic with magic.

I totally agree with McMama. The bottle of "snake spray" is a great tool at this young of an age. A friend of mine had "monster spray" and it was just a can of air freshener that she put a new label on. =0) Every evening, they sprayed the monster spray and all was well. When they are still so young, it's easier to comfort them. I would just continue to keep the conversations going with a light, happy tone and just keep trying to find that one thing that will comfort her. Maybe an extra nightlight or two? Leaving the door open for her? Stuff like that. Bless her baby heart! Good luck.

Being a nature center instructor, I would recommend a trip to a local nature center that cares for snakes. Speaking with a naturalist or instructor, learning about where they live (outside), really helps kids overcome the fear of them.