Movie Scare

Rent it, and watch it together. It has a good ending, she got to see the 'bad' but didn't get to see the good.

If I were you I would check out this movie and watch it by yourself.. take notes.. then watch it with her. Do this during the day time.. You can show her that it is just a movie. Not real.

Talk about are monsters real?

Can a house be alive?

Would you ever live in a scary house?

Are cartoons real?

You can empower her by having her help you figure out how to feel safe in her own house.

Maybe take the dust ruffle off of her bed. Give her a flash light to walk around the house when she feels like it is too dark.. , an extra night light placed in her room. .

One day look into every closet and cabinet.. into the corners at the back.. Show her it is just clothing and stuff in there.

Let her stand on a step stool to look higher than she normally is.

If you are religious, Holy water can be sprinkled around her room as the 2 of you say blessings.

We are frightened by what we do not know. We can be frightened by our own imaginations, this movie is just a happenstance, eventually every super bright, creative child will have fears.. They are scaring themselves, inside of their own imaginations..

I would act like this is nothing, to be honest. Continue to insist that she sleep in her own room. She is trying to make this morph into something big in order to get more attention from you. Ignore it. Just go about your day and evening. She will eventually get past it if you don't act like it's a big deal.

Have YOU watched Monster House? It was one of the $1 movies Regal Theaters offered last summer or the summer before, and they know there will be some very young children there...I took my little guy so he would have been 2 or 3.

It was a funny movie, playing on the kid's imaginations. Yes, the house ate some people, who emerged from the house unharmed at the end of the movie when the credits roll. I think the fact she saw a bit of it and didn't understand the entire premise is what scared her, so I'd rent it and watch it. Personally, some Disney scares my guy, so Disney alone doesn't gaurentee no scary stuff. I'd say "I'm sorry it scared you, would you like to watch it with me so I can explain what's happening?"

Don't let her sleep with you or entertain her not understanding the sleeping arrangements. I agree with Doris Day, your daughter may be trying to make this a much bigger deal then it is to get more things her way. Kids are brilliant :)

I think it's a good idea to watch the movie with her. Like GrammaRocks said, everyone ends up ok in the end. If the movie scared her but she didn't see the resolution, her fears of what happened are much greater than what actually happened.

Watch it together and talk about it. I think you'll be glad you did.

Confronting fears is the most effective way to move forward.

I think you should let her watch the whole movie. It explains why the house was in pain. It is a nice resolution. Read a synopsis of the movie and maybe that will help you help her see the movie in a different light.

My son had the same response to that movie, which is too bad because it's a pretty good movie!

I can't remember how long it took him to get over it, but I think if you just keep reassuring that it's not real she will eventually get past it. I like Laurie's idea of watching it with her during the day, though she might not want to so I wouldn't force it.

When I was young, I saw part of "The Dark Crystal". I had nightmares for months until I saw the rest of the movie. Finding out that there was indeed a happy ending helped a lot. It happened again in high school when I saw day 2 of "It" but not the first or last day. Once I saw the whole thing, the nightmares stopped.

Monster House has a happy ending (although suspenseful), maybe reading a book based on the movie would help as you could edit out the more frightening parts.

I've seen that movie and IMO it's a horrible children's movie. I can't believe it was marketed for kids. I didn't let my son (now 13) see it when it came out and I won't rent it for my now 9 yr old daughter. Coraline is a creepy movie also. Don't watch it with little kids.

http://www.kids-in-mind.com/m/monsterhouse.htm

http://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/monster-house

http://www.dove.org/reviewmasterframe.asp

It's an animated horror movie for kids! It's literally aimed at scaring young children needlessly. You should watch it for yourself (alone) and then you can talk to her. The ending made NO sense even to me. It was weird. Explain that sometimes adults make stupid movies and this wasn't a good one. It's all fake. All movies are someone else's idea. Have her play with you and tell you if she could make a movie (or write a book), what would it look like. Give her the confidence and freedom to create her own BEST MOVIE for 5 yr olds.

http://www.amightygirl.com/
I love that site. It's a great resource for books.

MOVIES
In the future, make sure you know what is being shown in another room. That will help prevent problems. The problem here seems to be there were multiple age children and someone changed the channel and chose that and left it there. That you couldn't control. Maybe if you are in the same situation, tell them not to change the channel because you don't know what's on and she's little.

SLEEP
I am a fan of co-sleeping. My daughter is 9 and I lie down with her till she conks out. Or at least until she feels comfy and then I leave. When she was little, she'd wake up at 5am, come to my bedroom and I'd quietly walk her back and lie with her in her twin. My husband doesn't want kids in our bed, so that was my sensible compromise. I don't want kids sleeping at the foot of my bed (on the floor), so going to her bed makes the most sense. I want her to feel comfortable in HER bed.

Why fight? Children are little and are only little for a short time. If they are afraid, comfort them. But also teach her that she is very safe and loved.

Being alone in a dark room, by yourself, after you've been scared about something and you are little... come on... put yourself in her shoes. She needs reassurance now. This will pass, but until then, be patient with her.

My daughter also went through a phase of being scared in her room (during the day). We talked about it. We prayed about it and I reassured her God loves her and protects her always. If there was anything creepy in her room (certain dolls or objects) we got rid of them.

I'll tell you a ridiculous story. Remember that movie THE RING? I saw it at home alone. For weeks (months?) I was terrified I'd see that figure in my house. I'm an adult. I was scarring myself needlessly. I knew better. I used to like horror movies, but nothing scared me like that did. She's a little kid. Be patient with her. Be compassionate. Try to figure out what she's afraid of and talk her through it. Reassure her she is safe and always will be in her own home.

I would rent the movie and sit down with her and watch it. Provide her with some guidance and explain to her about what is real and what is pretend. We bought the movie for my son when he was four and it was instantly a favourite.

Maybe rent something else that is a bit scary but happy?

Something like UP!.