Bee has made me realise how chilled out Munchkin was as a toddler. Yes she was painfully shy, but she didn’t make me face the challenges that Bee is making me meet head on.
One of these challenges is Monsters.
And not just any monsters but PINK monsters. And it is always TWO pink monsters.
I was so pleased when Bee finally moved into her own room. She went happily every evening and shouted at anyone who went into her room, including the carpet fitters. She started sleeping the best that she ever has and both myself and the hubby were happy that we had finally got our room back to ourselves and we were getting a full nights sleep.
Then all of a sudden, about a month since she moved in she woke up crying and hysterical. She didn’t say what they problem was so we just thought she saw a nightmare. But every night became a challenge. As soon as the word bedtime was managed she would start crying and it would be hard to get her into bed and settle. She would then wake numerous times in the night crying and come and jump in our bed.
After a talk one evening she finally admitted that she was scared and 2 pink monsters were coming into her room. Now how on earth do I deal with monsters?
So I suggested that as they were pink they were nice monsters…..That didn’t work.
So what is the best way to deal with monsters?
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One of the ways that has been suggested by many is to use things like ‘Monster Spray’, ‘Monster Swatter’ and to do a ‘Monster Hunt’ before bed.
My concern with this is that it is making something that is not real, real to her. If there is no such thing as monsters then why does she need a spray or a swatter? However, with such an imagination then she probably won’t believe me that Monsters are not real. So if you are currently dealing with Monsters, here are some suggestions that we are trying that may help you.
- Monster Spray. Put some colouring in to make is special. As we have pink monsters I am considering pink spray. Mist the room before bed and give the bottle to the toddler to spray during the night if s/he needs too. (although this is probably age dependent as you don’t want to end up with water everywhere)
- Monster Swatter. Get a fly swatter, accessorise it and use it to swat those pesky monsters out.
- Monster Hunt. Before bedtime, both you and your child can look high and low for monsters and shoo them out.
- Pets can help. Rosie has a habit of sleeping in the gap under Bee’s toddler bed. So we have suggested that Rosie is looking after her and protecting her; Monster’s are scared of cats.
- Night Light. Have a night light on in the room. Or even keep the hallway light on. I realised that the night light was casting shadows in her room making it even more scary.
- Favourite Teddy/Blanket. Let your child sleep with their favourite teddy (or even a whole group of them) and say the teddy is protecting them.
- Move furniture. Bee’s bed was in such a position that she could not see out of the bedroom door. The door was where the Monsters came in. The bed has now been moved so she can easily see outside.
From a Muslim Mummy perspective there are also extra ways to help your child with their fear.
- Recite the Ayatul Kursi and 4 kuls for protection. Recite this every night when your child goes to sleep.
- Play Surah al Baqarah, also for protection. Play this daily.
If any one else has any tried and tested methods of getting rid of monsters in bedroom, then please do share!! These pesky monsters appear to be very stubborn and interfering with everyone’s sleep!
We have tried some of these. Thankfully it was a short lived phase and a few of these together seemed to do the trick for combating it. We also tried getting my son to transform the monsters in his mind by making them into a story and turning them into something harmless or fun.
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I do understand your concerns about monsters not being real. But, whilst monsters may not be real – to her they are very real. How has she been at night time now that you’ve been using these techniques?
Moving the bed so she can see the door helps. I am now also spending time with her in her bedroom before bed reading books and playing so she associates the room as fun and more than somewhere to sleep. If she wakes up during the night she will cry a bit but it is not as bad as when it first started happening.
My daughter sometimes says about monsters it hard to explain to her.
My son used to have nightmares and come in to our room at night. We got an mattress on our floor for him next to our bed in the end. That worked well because if he was scared during the night he just came quietly in to our room and slept there without waking us.
It is a very natural phase they go through as their imaginations start to form. To her these fears are very real so you won’t be pandering to her, just letting her deal with it in her own way. Hope she gets past this phase quickly
awwwh the imagination is a power thing.
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I used to have the same problem growing up, it did feel very real so every night (and sometimes even now) I check behind doors, in cupboards and under the bed for reassurance x
bless her, lucky Wilf’s not been scared of anything like this yet, your suggested techniques sound great though x
What some great ideas, I remember thinking shadows were monsters as a child. I don’t know why. x
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Monsters are real to here and a big part of dealing with hte, is acknowledging her fear. I wrote our what we did to help Mini http://www.muminthemadhouse.com/2013/10/03/may-dreams-sweet-dreams-8-ways-help-prevent-nightmares/
Thank you for sharing your post.
Poor girl. We’ve been there with H, but can’t even think what we did, besides a huge verse over his bed.
I’m one for Ayatul Kursi , even for myslef when I get the spooks.
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We’ve never had the monster issue. I know what you mean about using the sprays and hunts and making it become something real. I guess you have to clock it up to one of those “phases” hopefully she passes through it quickly!
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We’ve never experienced this but like you i have read not to check for them as it is suggesting that they could be there. Erin went through a phase that i had to be upstairs as she fell asleep. Id use this time to clean the bsath or put away the washing!
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Oh poor thing that must be terrifying for her. I have to say we haven’t had to deal with monsters but I hope your techniques work.
Oh dear! There is always something to keep mums awake. I do hope this resolves soon x
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Oh bless her! Pickle is spooked by Cha Cha – the Rainforest Cafe character mascot who we met during our visit in May. His bed is by the window and I have found out that tucking the curtains above the windowsill to block the gap helps. We also both agree that the only monsters are on Monsters Inc film, and they are cute and friendly! Kaz x
Aw bless her. WE didn’t have much of an issue with monsters. I do remember saying that our cats stopped monsters coming in their rooms (we have a lot of cats) and of course I pulled the ‘no monster is going to mess with Mummy’ card, which seemed to work š