Many children have fears: some are rational, some are not. Just because a child is scared of monsters doesn’t mean you should dismiss the fear. Instead of telling the child there is no such thing as monsters; a better solution would be to help the child overcome their fears. A couple of simple steps can help your child overcome childhood fears so that both of you can get a good night's sleep.
- Listen to your child. Make sure they feel understood and not judged. Assure them that everybody has fears, even adults. Children can be comforted by the fact that adults can have similar problems.
- Offer to walk with the child through the house/room/ area that the child associates fear with. Open all the doors, look under the bed - use light to show that nothing is there. You can take steps to rid the child’s room of “monsters” by spraying air freshener or a similar “monster spray”. The physical act of doing something about the monsters can reassure many children. Please remember overcoming childhood fears can be as simple as a few sprays of a can.
- Encourage the child to tell the "bad thing" to get out assert the child's ownership of their personal space.
- Read happy positive stories every night to your child before they go to bed. You want to make sure the last thoughts entering the child’s mind before bedtime are happy and positive and not something that could lead directly to nightmares.
- Make sure your child knows they are loved and you will always be there to protect them.
Following the above steps should help you deal with your children’s fears and hopefully prevent any anxiety insomnia. Remember above all, children really just need some love and comfort which should quickly help them out grow their childhood fears.
