Children and Fear of a Monster Under the Bed: Nighttime Anxiety
Fear of a monster under the bed, fear of the dark, fear of the nighttime, fear of separation, fear of noises and the fear of sleeping alone are all real and are very common problems for children between the ages of 3 years and 6 years. This makes sense if you are knowledgeable about typical child development. During the ages of 3 to 6 a child's ability to use their power of imagination is developing at an exponential rate. This explosion means they are able to imagine a new and scary monster easily everyday.
During this stage of development you can also see a child show fear of objects and movies and situations (dark bedroom) that have not been previously frightening. Children at these ages are not able tell the difference between real and pretend. In addition, preschool age children are learning there are real things in their world that can hurt them.
When a child spends a good part of their day in pretend play with dinosaurs, dragons, bad guys or a monster of some sort, it is difficult to turn this imagination off when going to bed. Children also spend a lot of time typically watching movies that have a monster, ogre, trolls, bad witches, ghosts and more.
It is important for parents to realize they will not be totally able to end their child's fear during this stage of development. With this said, there are many things parents can do to help their child learn to deal with these fears and help children get to sleep easier. Some ideas to think about to help your children get through the fear of going to bed and the nighttime monster under the bed are:
- Spend a few hours before bed doing non-violent and peaceful activities.
- Avoid watching fairy tale movies or reading fairy tales before bedtime.
- Set into place a bedtime ritual that is low key such as; taking a warm bath, singing happy and fun songs, reading books that do not include witches, a monster or ogres.
- Turn on a night-light or two.
- Leave the door ajar.
- Play story tapes or lullabies
- Sleep with a loved toy, pet or sibling.
It is important for parents to understand that this stage of development will pass, but they they have a responsibility to set up the nighttime routine in such a way as to ensure their child has as many supports as is necessary to learn to cope with their fear.
Related Articles
Toddler Development: Hand Washing
Published by Mary Starr Johnson-Gerard, Ph.D.
I am a Ph.D. Educational Psychologist with over 35 years of experience in the fields of human development, behavior, and learning. I have hands on experiences as well consultative experiences in all areas. I... View profile
- Fear of Aging is like the Monster Under the BedRunning and hiding from aging is like being afraid of the monster under the bed. You have to turn on the light and confront the monster yourself. Face the aging process squarely and embrace it. And guess what? The fea...
- How to Help Your Child Overcome the Fear of MonstersAs a parent you can help your child to overcome the fear of monsters by teaching them that monsters don't have to be scary. I have come up with some fun activities that you can do with your child to help them overcome...
- Children's Book Review: I Need My Monster (Amanda Noll)Read this book to see what happens when the monster under Ethan's bed goes on vacation and he must find a substitute in order to get some sleep. A sweet tale that rebukes all that we grown-ups know about our monsters!
- How to Overcome the Fear of FailureFailure grips most people with fear that confines them within their box of limitations. To get out of that box, people need to know how to overcome the fear of failure. They should get a mindset that says to fail is t...
- Fear of the Dark: How to Deal with Your ChildrenA child's fear of the dark is very hard to understand for many parents. There are many different reasons they may be afraid. And usually with time the fear goes away, but what if it doesn't? How do you handle such a f...
- Erikson's Stages of Development
- Erikson's Stages of Development
- Jacques Lacan, Helene Cixous and Phallocentric Flaws in the Mirror Stage of Psycho...
- The Bed Monster
- The Best Night Light for Kids: It Doubles as a Monster Exterminator
- 3 Theories of Development that Impact Your Child
- Stages of Development in Baby's First Months
- This article describes childhood nighttime fears and suggests things parents can do to help.
1 Comments
Post a CommentAn effective product that I have found is the Monster Security System at www.MonsterSecuritySystem.com. It works great! the "system" goes beyond regular nightlights because it provides tangible reassurance. My 4 year old had real issues with going to bed as a result of monsters. This system solved the problem immediately. Give it a try!!!