To say monsters dont exist

[ssmile]

My DD3.5yrs has always had trouble sleeping. The last few weeks have been particulary bad. Her imagination is very active she wakes up from 11.30pm onwards saying the monsters are coming to get her. Her funnny dreams coming out her eyes. I've tried to reassure her that its pretend and they cant hurt her, but she would rather stay awake than go back to sleep. If I put her in my bed she will go back to sleep but its not a solution for us as we have baby2 on the way now. Anyone got any good ideas that could help reassure her. Currently we try sleeping on the floor next to her bed to help which is hit and miss.

Also everyone knows that Monsters are frightened of mummy and daddys so they dont come anywhere there is a mummy or a daddy present.

Sorry, but YABU. Monsters do exist, so no point pretending they don't.

I do all the children's bedrooms with anti-monster powder (shake n vac) once a week. But the best defence against monsters is that they cannot stand a child who smells of mummy's kisses- it makes them shake and feel sick. So if you cover them with mummy-kisses the monsters will be absolutely repelled

posh, are your children too young to have developed a fear of monsters yet? Thing is monsters are very real to some children, and parental insistence that they aren't doesn't actually help. You have to deal with the child's point of view, not yours.

When ds was at that stage, I used to do a big performance of looking under beds and in all hidey places and ordering the monsters out. Shooing them away, telling them in a very cross stern Mummy voice that they knew full well monsters were Not Allowed in the house. As if they were stray cats or something. Seemed to work for ds.

Think its quite common at this age, they have such active imaginations, my DD is also 3.5 and we have just had same thing. tried everything before realising she is actually scared of being in the dark, we now have plug in night lights for her which we told her the monsters are scared of - seems to be working. OP yanbu but personally i find validating works better

I think its one of those classic before you are a parent you never think you will do this stuff but when you nearly 4yrs down the line of sleep deprived nights you will try anything to get some sleep!
I love the mummy kisses idea :o

But there are "monsters" in all our lives- things that frighten and worry us- money worries, health worries, "bad" people (not necessarily paedophiles etc, by the way- bullies, nasty clients/ neighbours etc etc)

The monsters that children believe in are their fears personified. We all need to find ways of dealing with our personal fears, whether it is through increasing our self-belief, through rituals (like checking the door is locked/ batteries in the fire alarm) or even through the support and love of the people who mean the most to us in our lives. Teaching and helping your children to deal with monsters is just an early introduction to helping them learn to deal with the many many things that will keep them awake in the night in the years to come, IMO

Well said, Jooly.

I had a magic duvet which I used to tuck under my feet that meant the monsters couldn't get me.

A magic spell keeps bad dreams and monsters out of my ds's, aged 6, room. No wand needed, just wave your hand and suck out the bad energy.

Occasionally I may still tuck the duvet under my feet, say if I've been watching something particularly scary...

ssmile, my youngest DSis had her own imaginary monster friend who was a friendly monster and chased away all the others.

His name was Watchalee and he spoke in what is now universally known in our family as The Peculiar Voice (bizarrely, a strong Bronx accent).

Mind you, it is hard... my mum bought my sister special sheets with roses on them when she was four, and it is only recently my sister confessed to my mum that she used to think they were lions in disguise and came alive after dark. She never told my mum for fear of hurting her feelings