-My 8 Year Old Is Scared to Sleep - Please Give Me a Suggestion

I would start off by asking what he thinks might help ease his fears. Let him lead you in ways to fix this problem. I feel for him as I as an adult suffer from something quite similar. Try to allow him do what he feels will keep him safe. The simple things such as night lights, leaving a hall light on, allowing a radio or personal music player, or even a book light for reading to give him something else to focus on might be worth looking into. Hope you're both able to remedy this soon.

I agree with Proudpanmomof2--ask him what HE needs to feel safer.
Go from there.
Good luck!

He's probably a bit too old for monster spray--darn ;-)

He may be embarrassed if you suggest a night light. Check out places like Hobby Lobby, dollar stores and see if they have the strings of lights for patios. Put some small nails in his wall or around the window and hang up the lights. They work like a night light but are way cooler. Also look for some small bells, hang them on a string or ribbon and attach them to his window and his door, the front and back doors on the house. Tell him that either he or the dog will hear the bells if anyone tries the doors or windows. Work out an escape route similar to a fire escape route, have a planned meeting place outside the home. This way he will feel some amount of control over the situation. Teach him to think on his feet. Sometimes it is good to go over scenarios what do you do in this situation? Make sure he knows his address and phone number as well as Dad and Mom's full name. Dad is not only 'dad' he is is also Jim Smith and we live at 100 Main Street in City State. Show him how to use 911--I'm not sure if you can call 911 to talk to someone to show him how fast it works. Teach him that in an emergency he can go out his window, put a cordless phone in his room, let him know he can grab the phone and go out the window and call 911 and then go sit on the neighbor's porch or other pre-planned spot.

The more prepared he is the more control he will feel he has. The more control he has the less fear he will have.

Martial Arts might help but it will take time to build confidence and self esteem.

I'd ask him if he wants to sleep on the floor in your room for awhile. He's still only 8 and there was a school shooting 15 min ago. That's scary. It'll likely fade with time but right now, I wonder how many other kids are feeling very insecure. So sad.

I think a lot of kids specially in the Cleveland-Youngstown area have been affected by this. I think he is reacting in a normal way. The steps you can take is talk to a counselor so he can talk this through and also to create a "safety system" at home. Make sure he is apart of it or aware of it. It will help put his mind at ease that you have created a safe environment. Watch out that you don't create any obsessive behavior. You don;t have to over the top either. Just enough to make sure he realizes that you have done all you can to create a safe environment. Talking about this will also help him process this.

My son went through that a few months ago. He is also 7 going on 8. It seems to be some kind of phase that they go through at this age. What we did was this: he has a glow in the dark star..very small one that he hung over bed. We told him whenever he gets scared to look at the star and know that God is protecting him. He also had a dream catcher that they made at school during Thanksgiving..the American Indian kind. He hung that over bed too and knows that anything bad will be caught in his dream catcher. It is still there actually. He believes in that thing! We also gave him a brighter light that usual. If he came out of his bed, I would allow him to have a nice 5 or 10 minute chat with mommy or dad just to ease his fears. Then he goes back to bed and eventually falls asleep. It took a good 5-6 weeks or so to get over, but I kept telling him its just a phase and that all 7-8 year olds go through same exact thing. He is fine now. Be patient it will go away. Ps. the shooting in Chardon does not make it easier either. Just tell him that was an isolated incident...and that he is nice and safe. We always kept praying that all fears and doubt will be removed from our children's minds. Seems to work! All the best!

Do you know what it is he is afraid of? I would talk to him about his fears.
When my step daughter was that age she was afraid to sleep in her room and wanted to sleep on the sofa. At the time the kid’s bedrooms were upstairs and ours was on the first floor, she didn’t care that her older brother was right across the hall either. My hubby and I found out she had been looking up aliens and things like that online at her friend’s house and the sites they found were scary for her, she thought that aliens were going to come and get her.

I would ask him what he wants/needs to feel safe. I used a spray bottle with lavender scented water and sprayed her room and outside the window. I told her it was alien repellent and we never had a problem after that (just had to re-spray once in a while).

Maybe sign him up for Tae Kwon Do or some other similar activity? Or a self defense class? That might help him to feel powerful and prepared.

No, this is a phase, you shouldn't switch your rooms.

Make up some kind of a ritual with him to help him feel safe. Talk with him about the specifics of his fears, and mirror his emotions. "Yes, it's scary to think that someone might break in, it's a good thing we have such a safe house." "Let's find something that can sleep with you to help protect you and make you feel better." Work with him to get some kind of a lovey (stuffed animal, whatever) that will protect him. Let him have the lights on, and anything he wants until he gets over this phase. Maybe you can even install a baby monitor! I bet that will make him feel secure. Then, once he's over this, which he will be, you can remove the baby monitor.

You know, when I was scared, I would have my dog in the room. I KNEW that he would know well before anyone if someone was breaking in or even near the outside of the house. Perhaps you can talk to him about the dog's senses and then let the dog sleep in his room with him.