Nearly 3 year old is now petrified of going to sleep. Please help!

[oleb84]

Hi all,

Our little boy is turning 3 in a couple of months and he has always been a GREAT sleeper (he has had plenty of other issues!).

Less than a week ago there was loud drilling in the flat below us at 3am in the morning which woke him up and ever since then he refuses to lie down and just sits there SCREAMING "mummy, mummy, mummy" or "daddy, daddy, daddy".
This is the same for either his nap or bedtime. The only thing that has legitimately worked is one of us sleeping on the floor of his room so he feels safe. But we can't do that every night!

When we talk about he can only say "I'm scared".

We are at our wits end, what can we do to remedy this??

Can you make up a good bedtime story about the cat/dog/elephant who woke scared to a loud noise and what he/she/it did to feel safe again ......make it real and do it night after night....But until he feels safe it is cruel to leave him.
Can you not put an air mattress on the floor and sleep there for a while?

We're worried that if we stay with him he will get used to that, then come to expect it and not be able to go to sleep unless one of us is there. He has always been independent (for a baby/toddler!) so don't want to risk changing that trait in him.
I guess it sounds like Tough Love but it's worked so far (although not THAT tough).

When kids are scared of monsters under the bed, I've heard of parents using 'monster spray' to keep them away and it's helped the kids feel safe.
Maybe try something similar but to fit your situation? Like a spray to keep scary noises away?