Hi Mommies! My 4 year old DS has loved his Leo Leopard dearly since he was about 2 years old. I noticed recently that he isn't really sleeping with Leo (or any of his other stuffed animals except one big elephant) anymore. I asked him why tonight and he told me that Leo "MMMMMd" him. Now, I know what this means. He has always been terrified of our designer 9 foot tall dining room drapes. He has said for years that they "MMM" him and he makes that sound while growling. But now he has siad that Leo did it to him and it made him sad so he doesn't want Leo in bed with him anymore. I asked about a couple of the other animals and he said the same thing. all except the one elephant whom he said had been nice. But Leo has been his beloved stuffed animal forever and I just don't get it...
Has anyone had this suddenly happen with their four year old? I know that they are starting to "get" reality at this age and get scared of a lot of things and may have bad dreams (which he's been talking about for a month or so now). He actually tells me he doesn't want to dream. That they scare him. But I never hear him wake up crying about dreams. When I ask him what he's dreamed about, it's nonsensical stuff.
This might sound silly, but...Does he have siblings? I remember vividly my sisters telling me scary things about my favorite rabbit around age 4. I was terrified of it, but could never articulate it to my parents...and I didn't want to tell on my sisters.
You're right, this is happening at an age and stage where kids start to, as you say, "get reality" and realize there are frightening things in the real world. He may be transferring that some to the stuffed animals. I wouldn't push him to take any of them back on his bed; leave them wherever he put them for now. If he suddenly rejects the elephant too and says it also MMMMd him, find a calm time to ask him what happened, did the elephant say or do something or just look funny, etc. And if he wants to put the elephant away, let him do it wherever he likes. This may indeed be related to the nightmare stage -- he can't control his nightmares happening because he must sleep sometime, but he feels he CAN control his relationship to the stuffed animals.
If he starts doing it with everything -- animals, other toys, items of clothing, whatever, -- yeah, then I'd get a little more concerned, but for now, don't call too much attention to it; let him have this control. And as someone else posted, does he have an older sibling who might have been introducing the idea of the animals being scary?
As for the drapes, if he's terrified of them, why not replace them?
what is his night time enviroment like? Is there alot of street noise or the furnace turning on that might partialy wake him? Has he been sick or congested? Not sure why the drapes woudl scare him though. i was just thinking maybe he isn't sleepign well.
I would try putting him to bed earlier, since i think most people myself and my children included although i try, just don't get enough sleep. Hope it resolves.
All dreams are nonsensical.
Put Leo away in his memory bin, and give him the elephant. It sounds like the normal recognition as they grow that life is scary. He'll be fine.
My son did something similar but a book not a stuffed animal. He has a couple books that play sounds and music when you press on certain pictures.
He loved them but then out of nowhere, he refused to sleep in the same room with them and would demand that we take them away.
I don't know if one of them malfunctioned and played a sound without being pressed or if he rolled over on one while sleeping an accidentally activated it but he was pretty adamant so we didn't fight him on it and just put the books away.
Sometime kids have their own reasoning that they are not able to articulate to adult satisfaction. Like someone else mentioned, maybe he had a bad dream about it that he can't quite recall but it's still in his subconscious.
If he doesn't like it anymore just go with it. He'll be fine.
