[Mrs.aLifeofReilly]

So, in the past week my 22month old DS has become terrified of monsters. Sometimes it is during the night, but also during the day. He comes running to me yelling "monsters, monsters" and clings to me and buries his head in my neck. If I ask him where the monsters are, sometimes he'll point in a direction and sometimes he just cowers into me. He seems really terrified and I feel so bad.

I can't think of where he was exposed to scary monsters. We watch a little bit of tv (shows like curious george and sesame street), but I screen it carefully and watch with him and there's never been a mention of scary monsters. One of his books mentions monsters (Horns to Toes) but they are friendly furry monsters and it is a silly book.

I don't know where he got it and I don't know how to make him feel better about it. I tried explaining that monsters don't exist/aren't real etc, but I don't think he grasps that concept yet.

 

[emamum]

saying they dont exist wont help because to him they do..

it may work to give him something to get rid of them, a spray bottle of monster spray, a soft toy that is a 'monster eater' worked fir us

ds is not scared anymore, he watches dr who and knows that dr who always fights the monsters

 

[Masel]

I agree about proposing an anti-monster spray etc, something to give him power. My DD she started telling me she had a sword and would fight the monsters.

 

[justmama]

i don't know but my daughter had irrational monster fears at around 3. my neighbor gave her one of those crank flashlights that require no batteries and told her that the cranking noise scared monsters away. we walked around the house cranking this thing and yelling, "go away monsters, go away!" for about 2 weeks and finally she would let me crank it and she would inspect her room with the light to make sure there were no monsters and she would happily go to bed without tears. she's now almost 4 1/2 and still requires her monster light cranked up each night and turned on. by the time it dies, she's asleep and we never need to replace batteries. it was the BEST thing this woman has ever done for us.

but she no longer wakes screaming at night pointing at unseen monsters or insisting that her room is filled with monsters. she doesn't carry the light around constantly anymore but it is definitely a fixture in our bedtime routine. i like that it cost us nothing and still doesn't cost a thing and isn't huge and obnoxious or difficult to use. she can work it herself in the middle of the night if she just needs a little reassurance(she is in her own bed about 60-70% of the time now and I usually hear the light and go help her and talk to her) and it really has worked wonders on those fears.

 

[Maine Mama Doula]

Does your LO watch Caillou? If so, there is a show about monsters. All Caillou episodes come alive in our house. DD1 had a loose tooth the other day and she's not even 3!

 

[Jess_n'_the_bean]

Great ideas from other mamas - thanks!

we also have a dd who is scared of monsters - but she hasn't come up with these fears independently. It annoys me that there are all kinds of books and shows for very little ones that have to do with monsters...I can appreciate that these shows are intended to help kids manage their fears, but more often than not they "plant" an idea in our dd's head that she wouldn't have come up with otherwise. At daycare, too she definitely gets exposed to much broader influences - she came home the other day saying she wanted to go to McDonalds...she doesn't know what that is, nor has she ever been there/eaten the food. Obviously they were talking about it at daycare.

good luck mama! there are lots of us in the same monster-fighting boat!

 

[lolar2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jess_n'_the_bean It annoys me that there are all kinds of books and shows for very little ones that have to do with monsters...I can appreciate that these shows are intended to help kids manage their fears, but more often than not they "plant" an idea in our dd's head that she wouldn't have come up with otherwise.

Well, DS is afraid of bugs but not monsters, though he's been exposed to both. I think kids that age will always find something to fear.

 

[Bellabaz]

Thats so weird. DD is 25 months and has been doing the same thing for the past months or two. Out of no where she would gasp and monsters! and cling to me. Usually this would happen when she heard a noise from the aprtment upstairs or the hallway. I have no idea where she got the idea of monsters b/c it is not something we talk about and she really only watches Curious george and Kipper. I ahve never seen monsters mentioned on these shows. NOw she is better about it. IF she hears something she usally says "no monsters. its the lady upstairs."

 

[leighann79]

All of mine have done the same at about the same age. Something different worked for each one.
With DD1 we tried a few things. First I had to put up "gates" at each door to keep the alligators out. :nana: Then I had a special box with herbs in it that I told her would keep the monsters out. Then I helped her visualize a white ball of light in her hands that she could see getting bigger and bigger until it surrounded her room and kept her safe. Once that didn't work anymore (each thing in turn stopped working for her) I explained that I couldn't fix it for her. I told her that these things aren't real, but I understood that they were real to her. Since they were in her head, she had to come up with her own plan. I don't remember what she ended up doing.

With DS, none of my previous ideas with DD1 worked. So I told him the same thing and asked for ideas. We finally decided on "monster spray" (umm...Lysol

) It worked great. LOL
DD2 has been easier. She is the only one that was still co-sleeping at the time that the monsters appeared. I explained to her that I didn't allow monsters in our room. Or in our house. Worked for her! LOL She still won't go in a dark room alone and sometimes freaks out about turning on a light, but she doesn't worry about monsters at bedtime. I'll have to pull out the old tricks and see if any will work for her to get over the other things.