New Nightime Problems

H., my niece started getting scared in the middle of the night. Someone said to try spraying some fruity scented air freshener (used some kind of berry scent) and tell her that it is Fairy Dust and Fairy's take away all the things that scare you in the night.

Personally, I thought it was rediculous (I don't have any kids yet...one on the way) and thought that it would never work. Well, now that fairy dust has to go out of town if they are going on a trip, etc. It has worked WONDERS!!!

May want to try that! They spray it before she goes to bed.

Good luck, hope it helps!!

Don't feel bad for having to "be mean" Your consitance will be the best thing for your child (with this and anything you face in the future). Just do what you can to comfort him, like a night like & stuffed animals, etc. BUT don't let them stay in your bed... they will think it is ok & you will have a harder time getting them to sleep & stay in their own bed. It would help to go into their room & sit with them for a few minutes, just reasure them that you are right down the hall & you hear everything so you will always be there to protect them. I have not had to deal w/this myself (I have a 1 yr old), but my parents had problems w/both my brother & my sister... walking in their sleep, nightmares, etc.

Maybe a brand new stuffed animal of choice that you could create a fun story about giving it magic powers that will make him feel better etc... Now, I am a bit of a softy, my kids have never been allowed to sleep with us, and are great about sleeping in their own beds, but the have both gone through this, and I allowed them to sleep on the floor in my room. I am a big believer in teaching my kids that I understand their fears/concerns, and trying to meet in the middle with a solution. Neither child has tried coming in my room everynight for too long, but they always know they can if they need to. This is a prime age for new fears, and the reality that things that used to not be scary, now are. They know that there are bad people out there, that a CSI commercial looks scary, and that the tree that has always talked on their favorite movie, now seem overwhelming. You really have to monitor what they see and hear at this point, and come up with creative ways to "slay the dragons" (My 4 year old has a flashlight in bed with her because monsters are very afraid of the light :) Good luck!

H.,
Maggie had a good point, it could be night terrors... I think that's about the right age, too. But try all the suggestions... including "Good dreams" spray.... which was for us the body spray I wore during the day. That way my kids had my smell in their rooms while they fell asleep.

Try talking about what dreams he will have before sleep too... like whatever fun stuff happened he did that day and how he can dream about that.

Good luck.

Sounds like night terrors or nightmares, which is common at this age. We've started letting our daughter sleep with a night light in her room and a light on in the hall. It's really helped. If she comes to our room at night, we just walk her back to bed, get whatever she feels she needs to feel comfortable (extra stuffed animals, a drink of water, a book, whatever), and she's fine. I've woken up with her in our bed a few times when she got in without waking us, and I've had to lay in her bed with her once. Often I'll ask her the next day if she can tell me why she woke up. Talking about it seems to help her get over the fears. I didn't make a big deal about her coming to our bed because she was scared. I think just knowing that the option of coming to our room is available is helpful. We have had to really watch what she sees during the day. A lot of kids movies and other shows have things that really scare her. When she's seen those is when we get the night wakings.