Dealing With Nighttime
Fears

To children nighttime can be a scary time as their imaginations run wild and the smallest sound or shadow on the wall can become a monster. Dr. Richard Sherman, a clinical psychologist in Los Angeles says, "Monster fear is real. This is a very common problem among children between the ages 3 and 6."

During this time children’s imaginations are fully developed. They frequently engage in pretend play. The things that my children imagine amaze me: from building a blanket boat to sail the seas as a pirate to pretending to rescue a princess sister from a dragon brother. Every parent has seen their child run trucks on the floor or rock a crying baby doll. Some children even have imaginary friends that they interact with on a regular basis. But along with the increase of imagination fears can develop. For many children distinguishing between imagination and reality can be difficult.

Dr. Sherman advises, “Parents need to take these concerns seriously rather than simply telling their children that monsters do not exist.” Since for the children monsters are a very viable source of fear. It is equivalent to telling an adult to not be afraid while walking down a dark inner city alley at night. Of course you are going to feel some fear. But in both cases it is how the fear is dealt with that is important. If you really need to go down the alley then you will overcome your fear and do it. If not you will find a different way to reach your destination. It is the same with children. Obviously your child has to go to bed and it will be dark but you can help them by finding ways to allay their fears.

As a parent it is important that you acknowledge your child’s fears and validate that it is okay for them to be afraid. Everyone feels fear and it is nothing to be ashamed of. Assure your child that you will help them and then suggest ways that your child can fight their fears.

• To help your child cope with nighttime fear, provide your child with a flashlight that they can keep next to their bed. Then they can shine it on the monster’s hiding place. Scaring the monster away, since every child knows that monsters don’t like light.
  
  
• Play games at dusk just as the sun is setting so your child gets comfortable in the dark.
  
  
• Don’t allow your child to watch scary shows that feature monsters. Because children have a hard time realizing that what they watch on T.V. and in the movies is not real. They could easily fear of a monster in their own room.
  
  
• Try reading books about children who overcome their monster fears. My favorites are "Too Many Monsters" in which a boy learns that monsters are afraid of ducks and quacking makes them run away and “Go away, Big Green Monster" where as the pages turn a monster’s face is built and then slowly disappears as the book tells the big green monster to go away.
  
  
• Some parents make it a nightly ritual to check all the places in their child’s room where a monster might hide and then reassure their child that their room is monster free.
  
  
• For some children monster protection charms work well to remove fear of monsters. It could be as simple as a special key chain that your child can keep under their pillow to ward off monsters.
  
  
• Nightlights can help dispel a child’s fears. My nephew has to sleep with two nightlights in order to keep the monsters in his room at bay.