2yo scared of everything and cried at bedtime and in the night

[mollydolly]

My spirited DD has been a great sleeper for the past year or so but more recently she cries every night when we walk out of her room.
The other night she woke at 2.30am and couldn't get back to sleep for hours so DH slept on the floor in her room from 5am so we could all get some sleep.

She recently stopped at my mums house and apparently didn't sleep till 1am and then woke at 5am and my mum is so soft, she ended up letting her watch tv in the night!
Not surprisingly we had hell to pay the following night with her screaming and telling us she wanted to come downstairs but we got her back into her routine quick enough but now we're having issues again.

She doesn't say she's scared when we walk out the room but during the day she's constantly telling us that she's scared of various noises/people and as we finish reading her story, you can see her getting anxious looking around and then she sits up and starts to cry.
I've tried going back in and comforting her but the only thing that seems to work is being very firm and telling her to stop crying and go to sleep!

I was wondering if anyone has experienced similar issues and if you can suggest anything so we don't have her crying every bedtime?

Thanks

[clazzat]

I haven't experienced anything like this myself, but do you think you could take her to buy a special bear who will protect her during the night?  Or maybe perform some sort of ritual that will banish whatever she is scared of - and perhaps if you discuss it with her she will become less scared anyway.

I do remember that my dd1 did suddenly decide that she needed a nightlight having always slept in the pitch black - perhaps something like that could help her too?

Another idea is something like white noise or a lullaby cd to drown out the noises that she is scared of.

[hjrmom01]

Any chance she's teething?  My 2yo DD just started the same thing. She doesn't say anything during the day about being scared but as soon as we are done with books and prayers and go to put her in her bed she gets this panicked look and will start to cry.  So during the day we talk about how mommy and daddy (if he's home) are always right close by even if we aren't in her room, we always come back if she needs us, and we read the book "Llama Llama Red Pajama" and talk about that, too. So now at night (and naps) when we start to read books she'll say "no cry for mommy. Be right back?" And I say "I always come back if you need me. I'm never far away." When I put her down she'll start to cry and say "come right back? Give Boss his pill, come right back?" (she thinks I'm putting her down to go give the dog his pill  ) and I say "You don't have to cry. Mommy loves you and I'm always near. I always come back if you need me. Close your eyes and go to sleep." And generally she's ok. Sometimes she cries after a bit and I have to go back in but usually not more than once.

[mollydolly]

Thanks for your help. I use a night light now and leave the door open a crack which seems to be helping when she goes to bed but she still wakes in the night, every night.

Not really sure what to do apart from bear with it and hope it's just a phase which she'll grow out of!