Murals on Nursery Wall – Would It Be Too Scary?

K.,
I have an 18 month old little boy. Over his crib he has a large painting of a giraffe. The giraffe’s head is sort of peering into the crib. He hasn't noticed it until recently. It never was scary.
-S.

Hi Kellen,
What a pretty name:) I think when children wake up and see "monsters" they are seeing something unfimilar and creating something else, therefore If see wakes up ad sees the bunnies she knows what they are so she wont be able to create monsters in her mind.
K.

My nephews also have an underwater mural in their room, they love it and don't get scared by it. I agree with K., your daughter is too young to be scared of it right now, and by the time she is old enough to get scared she will be used to it. It sounds like a really cute mural!

I think the mural is an excellent idea, my cousin did one for her new baby and it is an underwater ocean scene on the entire room!

I think she is too young for you to worry about monsters... that wont come for some time.... at two months she probably cant even see the mural on the wall (at that age they can only see so far, right?) And by the time she is old enough to be scared of monsters - she will be used to the mural and it probably wont be an issue.

Good luck & congrats on the new baby!

Just don't paint glow-in-the-dark eyes on the animals!

I'm sure if the room is done when she's little, she will be used to them. The shapes and colors will be fun to look at. I hung these beautiful alphabet-animal; flash cards around the nursery as a border and my son would talk to the animals and follow them around the room when I sung the alphabet song. My heart will break when I have to repaint...

I painted a scene of jungle animals all over the large dormer ceiling in my son's room, and he loves it and always did. Even as a baby, he would just stare in amazement at the animals while I fed him or he laid in bed.

I've had four kids sleep in nursery with Beatrix Potter bunnies and none of them have ever been afraid .

Your daughter can't see the mural right now- and won't be able to for several months- her eyes can't focus so far away. When she's a bit older, you can hold her and walk her around and point to the bunnies and squirrels, trees and flowers, etc., and talk about them. They will become her friends. As for nighttime fears when she's older- they will happen-or not-regardless of what's on the walls. For one of my daughters, it's what might be in the closet that's scary. My other daughter doesn't get bothered by things in the room or on the wall. There's no way to predict. So, I'd say just go ahead and decorate as you'd like.

In our old house, we decorated my son's room to match the bedding on his crib. My husband painted a gigantic elephant, zebra and giraffe on the walls. It was months before my son ever really paid attention to then, and when he did, he loved them. The elephant was on the wall where his crib was, and it never bothered him. I bet your daughter will be just fine. :O)

Hi K.!
I paint murals on kids' walls. My son's first room was Finding Nemo. I painted a three foot Bruce the shark on his wall, teeth and all and he loved it. Fear is something we learn, not born into. He's 2 1/2 now and he wanted it on his new room too. So I painted it again.
If you need some help, or would like to talk about it, let me know.
Just show her all of it and tell her nice things about it. She'll be fine :)

When my daughter was a few months old I painted a tree with animals on it (an owl, a goose, a rabbit, etc.) and even hung a few puppet animals from the wall (a possum, birds). The painting covered the whole wall, floor to ceiling. She loved it. Some of the first animal signs she learned were these animals. She liked to go up to them and point them out. When my daughter has woken up scared of monsters, it has always been because of shadows, never because of her friendly animals on the wall. They were her companions, and she loved pointing them out.

In our new place, my daughter requested a rainbow and turtles, which are now on the wall. (She asked for them when she was three.)

Best of luck. C

Hi K.,

I don't think it would be scary; I think it would be something
stimulating on the walls for your baby to look at. I was a first time mom at 42 and it was scary! Thankfully you learn quickly! Best wishes, P.

Hi there
I think it would be scarey- go with something smaller in the same theme - good idea just a little too big -
Are you going to advertise your business on mamasourse?
I would like to see your site.... think about it ok?
Thanks
K.

I think the mural would be lovely and that you don't really have to worry about the baby being scared at that young of an age. By the time she is old enough to be scared she is going to have grown up with it and probably feel better seeing it if she wakes up. My 6 year old boy gets very scared at night and what makes him feel better is his Starwars poster with Darth Vader because he said it would scare away any monsters. It is funny what reasures little kids. My other son who is 2 shares the room with his big brother and isn't scared of Darth Vador because he doesn't really know what he is other than having the lable "bad guy" and as far as he remembers his room has always had that poster. Hope this is helpful. Don't worry too much, you sound like a great mom! K. (mom of three [6, 2, & 9 months]).

K.-
I think your painting is a great way to get your dau used to nature and thinking of animals as friends. I painted animals (including bats, owls, tigers, etc.--animals that are more traditionally thought of as scary) on a friend's baby's room many years ago and he never had any issues and is a nature loving little guy now! I think kids are more likely to think of animals as scary if we tell them stories like that, rather than friendly stories. Sounds like a fun idea to me!

Dear K.,
I wouldn't think that the mural would scare her, if you are that worried abut it do one wall first and give it a week than do another wall and so on.
Hope this helps.

S.