Scared of the Dark

Get him a flash light that is just his. I don't know if you want to try what I do with my 3yr old daughter you be the judge. When she became aware of monster's I told her that the monster's where not in the house because they are at the playground playing on the toys. That was their time to play, so they could not be under the bed or in the closet because they were at the play ground. If he needs to look at something that is dark in his room he can use his special flash light and see that nothing's there. I did this with my oldest daughter when she was the same age as my youngest. It worked for me.

We did a couple things when my son started this. First time we gave him a spray bottle with nothing in it. We told him it had invisible monster spray, only monsters were afraid of it and he could spray it at them and they had to leave...I've seen variations where people have put a little glitter in it with water, but our bedrooms are wood floors. Another time he started this he would come running out of his room and say there was a monster in his room, I finally got tired of telling him to use the bottle. So I asked him to talk to the monster and find out what he wanted. This went on for about 15 minutes, he would come out and tell me the answer to what ever I asked, and go back with the next....

So needless to say his monster named Michael just wanted to watch TV with him. After that occassionally he would come out and say something about the monster and we would remind him to ask what the monster wanted and who it was, and if finally felt comfortable enough to tell the monsters to just go away he didn't want to play or didn't want company that night.

It worked because he felt in control of the situation and I also told him that the monsters couldn't stay if HE said they had to go away. He was 4 it worked.

Good luck
Chelle E.

I think children become more aware of danger at that age. We gave our son "monster spray" to protect him in the night at that age. It was just water in a cool bottle, but it worked. He was confident and slept through the night.

Good luck!

S.

One of my triplets who are now 6 are afraid of the dark. I bought her a small cheap table lamp and I buy colored light bulbs from Aco to put in it. Blue are best. They light up the room just enough. I hope this helps. :)

Would you consider giving him a flashlight to keep next to his bed? My kids had 'child' friendly flashlights in the shape of animals that would only turn on if they were holding the handles (saves on batteries by not staying on all night). They were allowed to use them at night but only if they stayed put in their beds. I didnt want them wandering around the house at night.

Have you tried monster spray? (spray bottle filled w/ water -- some folks use air freshener)

Lowes sells a lamp where the lampshade is dark blue and has the constellations on it--you can turn the light on a certain way and see the stars. IKEA has a small lamp that is intended to be a nightlight, too, giving the child's bedroom a little more light.

Hi T.
Mine did the same thing when she was 4. She's 5 and the new thing is she's scared of things all the time. They'll be a noise of a truck on the main road or some sound that penetrates her playing. And she runs to me flinging herself onto my lap. My friends son also 5 has been saying he's scared recently too. She mentioned reading an article about how kids perception, or brain chemistry changes around this age and
they are scared, or more sensitive because of it. I haven't found the article yet. But I think I can tell when she's teasing me or trying to get her way. I guess it helps that I remember being little and scared of the dark myself.

This one doesn't move but it was cute.
portable night light (cheaper at target)
http://www.minitots.com/store/detail~Mobi-Baby-Monitors-_...

Here are ones that move
http://www.amazon.com/Nursery-Motion-Moving-Picture-Anima...

What about the light bright toy, you could play that in the dark before putting him to bed "this game is more fun in the dark". Or make hand shadow figures on the wall. There's a Bearnstine bears book about being afraid of the dark too.
Good luck, A. H

I think flashlights are very comforting for kids at this imaginative age. Also nightlights or whatever else you need to do. I was terrified in my room as a child because of shadows cast by a street light and a tree with large leaves that make shapes like hands on my wall!

Hi. I never had a serious problem with this but I know an awesome trick. Get a small spary bottle and put water in it if you want your child invovled you can pretend to mix some powders from the kitchen in it (like a potion) and it's monster away. Have him mist it in the closet and under the bed before lights out and if he gets scard he can spary more. Sometimes all they need is peace of mind. Good luck.

When my son was little, he had the same problem and my sister told me a trick that I used. She had me take a small water bottle and write on it "monster spray". We filled it with water and then we would "spray" his room - under the bed, in the closet or wherever he said the monster was. I told him that this monster spray would keep the monsters out. I let him do some spraying too and it helped alot. He didn't have anymore problems with monsters in his room and we all got more sleep. I hope this was a help to you. Cathy

My daughter is 14 and still hates the dark. Not so much for monsters, but just gets scared if there aren't lights on. So we have kept a blue nightlight on and someone else always goes ahead of her in a dark house. We all have our phobias and she can "deal" with it if she has to,but it is a true "fear" of hers.

The Twilight Turtle has gotten good reviews - soft turtle that casts constellation on ceiling - I will bet you can find it on sale just about anywhere now - I would check online or maybe at BRUs/TRUs.

We put a night light in the room that looks like a fish aquarium. You can buy them just about anywhere. It's pretty bright and my son has no problem sleeping with it. It's just a stage he's going through. It shall pass eventually. :)