Four Year Old Having Nightmares

Sounds like it's time for the monster spray...or in your case, bumblebee spray. What you do get a clean spray bottle, put a label on it that says bumblebee spray, fill it with clean water and let you daughter spray it around her room before bed. Tell her it is magic spray that won't allow any bumblebees in the house and especially in her room. Use it every night. WOrks like a charm. I've been using different versions of monster spray for years with my kids, and have posted about it on this site before. There are lots of mamasource moms who know the beauty of monster spray!

Good Luck

I would consult the pediatrician. There could be a whole host of things going on here... Fears usually develop during this age, as the brain is still putting the final touches on neural pathways. There could be some behavior modifications you could do in-home or if could be (as the other respondant said) medication issues, food allergies, etc. Write down what goes on during the day (one day), what's said, what food...everything and any trauma (death of a family member/friend, job-loss, etc) and bring that to the doctor. Good luck.

I agree with Shelby - my son's doctor told me in May (3 year check up) that he may start developing fears (in the next year) of things he previously had no fear of. It could also be that if you let her sleep in your bed a few times in the beginning, she may be checking to see if she can still get away with it.

My son had always gone to bed on his own - almost a month ago we had to share a bed for a few nights. (Long story - not related!) Like I said it's been almost a month ago, and he still asks me to sleep with him now! Hang in there!

Something has scared this child. My youngest woke up from a nap when the house next door was burning & they made us leave our home while the firefighters were putting out the intense blaze. He slept in our room in a sleeping bag when his dad wasn't traveling & I let him. He eventually graduated back to his own bed. I'm a grandmother now & he has 2 precious boys, 8 & 10. If being near you doesn't "fix" the problem, please take her for an evaluation. Perhaps there's something going on with her brain waves. Some people have waking nightmares all their life & not sure what causes them.

My nephew has suffered from nightmares for years, he also talks in his sleep. Usually after a scary movie. He is ten now. He had been tired at school and wouldn't get up in the morning. My sis didn't want traditional medication so she started him on melatonin. He now is getting the type of sleep he needs and they are both very happy with the results. It is natural and safe, non addictive . Do some research and ask around. It may be an option for you.

Has your daughter started any new medications recently? My son had night terrors after switching antihistamines. It took us a while to figure it out. Just a thought.
Good luck!

Children develop fears and they are exposed to so much 'adult' stuff now days from movies to TV to music to who knows what. Maybe she has seen the bumble bee transformer masks or something like that. Ask her where she saw the bee and I would get a book on bumble bees and talk about them and how God made them and how small they are and how if they did sting you the stinger is taken out and you're fine. She needs to know that what she's afraid of is not life threatening, etc. and then she can face her fear better. I wouldn't go into some people being allergic to bees. :-) Maybe it's not even a bee she's afraid of but something she saw or heard so talk about the where and details. I know nightmares start about this age so I would comfort her and not take her to your bed unless you want to do that everytime she has a fear. I think if you talk about it, pray with her if you can, and teach her how to handle fear that is the best thing you can do for her.

Good Morning T.. The boys used to have bad dreams when they were little. I would go in and we would talk about it, tell them it was OK. Then I would tell them a made up story about bunnies, rainbows, marshmallows etc, anything soft sweet or pretty. Would say a little prayer that the Father would keep all the bad dreams away. Use a very soft voice

Our gr son Corbin, 4, would say there were scary things in his closet so his dad & mom made him a spray bottle of water with a little fragrance in it, to vanish all the scary things. Then daddy would do the scary things go way dance...lol I think Corbin made up the scary things in the closet for a while cause he loved watching his daddy being silly before bed time.He would lay their giggling. Would say there's one over there daddy get him...lol Dad is 6'2" about 250. So it was pretty funny.

How ever you handle this do it in a loving caring soft voice, especially if you make up a story to tell to get them to relax. The boys would be ready to drop off again when I finished.

God Bless you T., it will get better, kids imaginations can take them to unknown places.
K. Nana of 5

T., I don't have an answer for you, but we are going though the some thing right now with our 3 1/2 yr old. She is scared of the evil queen from snow white and of monsters in her room. I always try to tell her monsters are not real, but its not really working. I'm interested in the responce you get to see if it can help us also! Good luck!