2.5 yr old afraid of the dark!

[rchilde508]

He has always been laid down in bed awake in the dark and has always been such a good sleeper! He loves laying in there and playing with whatever truck he has. We had a thunderstorm 3 nights ago and since he has screamed bloody murder if he is in bed. He says he is afraid of the "monster". Ive tried laying with him (which is super hard because he is not yet in a toddler bed), rocking to sleep (he is a picky sleeper and does not go to sleep rocking anymore), bedtime stories and prayers, standing beside the crib, and then finally give in to him sleeping with my husband and I. This is fine but I don't want to start that habit. Any suggestions..

[We Three]

 This will pass.....good sleepers almost always go back to being good sleepers.   

 There are a few things you could try.....the first is to light his room a bit.....we use 'fairy lights' which are just a 50-bulb strand of Christmas lights that we place on top of dd's armoire. It gives a glow in the room, not too much, but enough to see.

 When my dd (also a great sleeper) went thru some fears, I sat next to her crib and held her hand until she feel asleep a few nights. 

 The best way, IMO, is to stay with him, build trust.....then one night tell him you have to pee, and you'll b right back. Then come right back within a minute. Next night, same thing....tell him you're going to brush your teeth, then come right back. Put clothes into the dryer, and come right back. come back EVERY TIME, in just 10 seconds if that is what it takes to return BEFORE he gets upset.   In time, I was able to tell dd..."You rest, I'll be right back to check on you in 2 minutes...."  For her, just knowing I'd be returning, she allowed herself to relax, to roll over and in time, close her eyes.  We still do the 2 minute check all these years later.   

[rchilde508]

Thank you! I will try! He turned 2 July 20, is this a good time to try to transition to a toddler bed? Or should I keep him in his crib? There are so many different things to think about lol

[Katet]

As children get older they become more aware of the world & thunder can be very frightening, so he needs that reassurance because he's getting to the stage that he has fears & also that he needs to know you are there to help him through it.

As the PP said good sleepers get through the blips, but it's also important to talk to him about it & link up the emotions so that they can work through it if they are to move forward.

In terms of the bed, totally your preference, I'd probably stay with the crib until he's settled from this upset & then look at a time to change.

I also agree with the PP the "be right back" method is a great one as it helps build trust & for the early days I'd just set up a spot on the floor & tell him you will stay with him until he falls asleep & then slowly remove yourself.  Also talking about the noise & the monsters in the day time, talk about your own experiences with things that you learnt to stop being scared of or just make up some stories that sort of tell that idea.

[Kellyjs]

My DD was also 2 in July! We are going through some major developmental stuff atm which for us, plays havoc with going to sleep at night.

It might be a little late to do this, but DH and DD play this game with a blanket and a sofa where they go completely underneath and have a 'camp'. DD always brings all her stuffed animals (especially the lovey) and they play in the dark under this blanket. It's recently developed into having various weather outside of the camp such as raining, where they need to get back in the camp quickly. Then it stops, it's sunny and they can both go and get their pretend wellies on and jump in muddle puddles (which is a tea towel ont  he floor   ). He also does 'thunder' where he yells 'boom, boom' and she has to get back in the camp quickly again and wait for it to pass where she can then jump in the puddles again. Dyt that's something you can try? Even if it's just the camp bit in the dark?

As pp have said too, I'm sure a night light will help, many kiddos have them and they work really well, I was just thinking of something you can help reassure him n the day time too. Hth xx

[Jodes112]

Both ds & dd webt through this! A night light helped for both, and also leaving the door open slightly!

Prior to being scared of the darkness they both slept with door shut & black bedroom. Its definatley normal.

Good luck

[rchilde508]

Thank you all so much for the advice. I appreciate it all!