7 Yr Old Is Scared Constantly and Wont Sleep Through the Night

give him a 'touch' lamp that you find at walmart and put near his bed. Or better, leave it on. Also, put on a baby Einsten relaxation cd that plays on a tape in a loop. It will help him relax, not stimulate him. Fear of the dark stimulates his mind....terrible for peaceful sleep.

Hi C.-

When I was little I watched The Wizard of Oz and was scared of the witch and the flying monkeys. I remember my mother sat down with me and had me tell her the story from the movie. As I told the story, she would interrupt during the scary parts and make a joke out of it or make it more fun. It would be really silly things but for example when I told her about the tornado picking up the house she would say "wouldn't it be cool if when the house got picked up it landed right in the middle of Disney World and you could live there?" Or when I mentioned the flying monkeys she'd interrupt and say "I bet they dropped bananas on everyone's head, right?".

Anyway for some reason me telling the story and then inserting her silly little comments and changes to the story made it not so scary for me.

I suppose if the movie was a true horror movie (Friday the 13th, Psycho, etc.) this may not work real well. But hopefully he wasn't watching anything that bad....

Good Luck!
K.

I went through the same thing a year ago.. my son is 11years old.. First, chew his dad's butt out for doing such a stupid thing... What we did, was go to Target and pick out relaxing music CD.- They had it set up (at our store it's next to the cards) to where you can push a button and listen to 30 seconds of it.. rainwater, birds, or classical music. He plays it at night, on a low setting.. He has a night light, and puts his bible under his pillow.. This has helped tremendously!! He doesn't wake up anymore.

First of all, I have a 7 y.o. that is always scared, too. Can't stand to be in the house, or a room, alone, sometimes. I have told him he has to follow me around, not the other way around (wants me to stay with him while on computer, shower, everything, but not always). He, too, saw a scary movie and that did it. But if he sees a scary commercial (dang Goosebumps) it starts again. It does have a little to do with what's going on in life, I mean if there are changes, or if they feel like you are busy with other things, that may be a way he can keep you close. Even if there's nothing new really recently. That's just my thought. I've been single for 5 years, and we've been in our present house for almost two years, but he recently (after not doing it for a while) started being scared all the time again. I started seeing someone about 7 months ago, and, well things are changing. My 7 yo recently asked me about ghosts in our house, and freaks out if I go outside without letting him know. Anyway, just wanted you to know you're not alone. drives me crazy. luckily he's not waking me up too often, but it is annoying that he won't go brush his teeth without someone in the bathroom withhim, you know?

Hi C.,

First of all, as you know your 7 year old should not be watching scary movies. What was dad thinking? That is probably what caused this in the first place but I have an idea. We had a similar situation with our 6yr old but NO scary movie just not sleeping. We also have yours, mine and ours kids! Our Pediatrician recommended Melatonin and the exact same routine EVERY NIGHT...no matter what for about a week. So, about 20 minutes before bed, give him 1-1.5mg of Melatonin (pill, spray, either) stick to a bedtime, story, shower, snuggle, whatever your routine is and don't stray from it at all...not in the littlest way and then now add the melatonin. It's not harmful (it's what your body naturally produced for bedtime anyway), ask your pedi or pharmacist and use it for about a week. Remember do the same exact routine. No changes and good luck!

Is he scared of the dark? Do you have a nightlight or maybe let him leave the light on? Maybe leave his door open at night. Just some suggestions.

My mom told us that when you have a bad dream, just roll over to your other side and the bad dream will go away. It worked and still works for me.

This may be totally off base, but I thought I'd put it out there in case it rings true for you and your son.
Even if your 7 y.o. does completely love the new baby, his new brother, his new stepdad, and all the changes that come w/ his new life, he may be feeling like it's all out of his control and that can be a scary thing. ALL change, including change for the better, is stressful even for adults. A child who has never had to deal w/ huge life changes and then has like 4 of them happen really close together can be especially impacted. Kids haven't learned the tools to express their stress like adults do so they use their life circumstances to let out and work out their confusing feelings. Maybe the scary movie was the tipping point that released your sons stress. Maybe he'd been feeling like his life was out of his control and the scary movie gave him the outlet to express what was already building inside of him. If that's the case, I wonder if giving your son some sense of control could help him feel more powerful in his life in general and calm his fears at night. Find out what he says he's afraid of and find a way to "slay" that demon. If it's monsters help him dig an imaginary pit in his room all around his bed, then "cover" it w/ blankets and then the monsters will fall into the pit if they try to get to him in the night. Whatever the fear is, empower him to do something about it.
I don't know if any of this will help or not, but I sure hope you can find something that does! You must all be completely exhausted. I hope it's over soon.

wow, my daughter is about to turn 6, i have a 3 month old that she does not seem to resent either, but for the last 2 nights she has been screaming not to go to bed, literally screaming, and my daughter has never thrown a tantrum in her life, i will be keeping a close eye on this topic.

Maybe ask him to follow a certain routine before waking you up. When he wakes up a little scared, tell him to 1. turn the closet light on. 2. Go to the bathroom. 3a. Drink a sip or two of water (have a glass out ready). 3b. Hit play on the cd player, soft music preset low volume. 4. Go back and lay down for 15 minutes (he can count in his head?! which will put him to sleep) or until the music finishes?. 5. Then, if he is calm, he stays in bed even if he can't sleep. 6. If he is still scared, then he can come in for help - but he has to verbalize what he's scared of or you can't help him (that way you can teach him it's not to be scared of or find out what's going on). I don't know if this will work, but it will distract him enough he might settle down before waking you up. When he does wake you up, go over the list and make sure he's done all of the above steps. If he hasn't, then come up with a light punishment of some kind - like an after school nap of 30 minutes since he didn't sleep well. Something he won't want to do but isn't painful, just babyish. Just my thoughts. **If you can sing, maybe make a tape of yourself singing (or reading) to him to listen to.**

My 8yr old son has been having a recurring nightmare lately, and I don't allow him to watch scary movies. So although that may have helped fuel his imagination, it is probably not the cause.

One thing I used to do with my friends son is use "monster spray" which was water in a spray bottle marked monster spray. Maybe you can mark it for whatever he is afraid of and spray around his room before bed. I used to also have to check the closet and under the bed with a wiffle ball bat to make sure the coast was clear.

For my son he has a large stuffed bear that he believes can keep bad dreams away or from hurting him. Most of the time this works. I also have him tell me the scary parts and we talk it out.

You may also want to make a dream catcher with your son and hang it above his bed.

http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Your-Dreamcatcher

I hope you find something that works for you!

R.