Toddler Bedtime Problems - Monsters
It feels like babies sleep all the time when they are first born, but as they continue to grow, they tend to develop a good sleeping routine that usually consists of sleeping through the night and (possibly) taking a nap or two during the day. Once this sleeping routine is mastered, both parents and children can finally receive a good night’s rest each and every night.
But that can all change in a slit second due to your toddler's imagination. So what can you do when the dreaded "monsters" try to sweep in and steal your child's nighttime peacefulness?
Bedtime Monsters
My daughter was the perfect baby when it came to sleeping. She was sleeping through the night by the time she was a few months old. It was great to be able to sleep all night. But then one night when she was about 2 1/2 our peaceful nights came to a screeching halt because "monsters" were keeping my sleepy little girl wide awake with fear each night. She was terrified to go to bed. We tried every thing. We would let her fall asleep downstairs before putting her into bed, leaving lights on in her room, and countless other things to try and ease her mind so that she could rest, but nothing we tried worked. The only way she would sleep is if she was in our room on the floor in her sleeping bag, but this sleeping arrangement was not something I wanted to become permanent. She needed to sleep in her room, in her own bed.
Finally after about a month went by my mom mentioned a trick to me that she heard from one of our other relatives that she felt would help ease my daughter's fear and help her sleep peacefully in her own bed. The trick was to use "Monster Spray".
What is Monster Spray?
Monster Spray is a magical bottle of liquid that moms and dads can purchase at a "special' store to help keep monsters out of our children's bedrooms at night. Actually "monster spray" is just mommy's extra bottle of body spray that is just sitting on the dresser not being used.
Defeating the Bedtime Monsters
Monsters are just part of your child's active imagination and it is hard to soothe their fears with words alone. You can tell them until you are blue in the face that monsters are not under the bed or hiding in their closet, but they will not believe you. They strongly believe monsters are real so you need something "real" to fight these monsters. By using "monster spray" you are warding off anything that is trying to keep your child awake within their own imagination.
You can give any area that your child thinks contains monsters a spritz of your "monster spray". This will put their mind at ease and it will help you both to return your normal sleeping routines.
No More Monsters
Once you start using your "monster spray" in your child's room their fear should diminish. It worked with my daughter and it also worked with my stepson. I actually forgot all about our "monster spray" until my daughter, who is now eleven, mentioned it. It was funny because she looked at me out of the blue and said, "Mom, remember the monster spray? Wasn't that just a bottle of your body spray? I had to laugh to myself because I never thought she would remember me spraying it every night so that she could sleep being it has been nearly seven years since I last used it.
If you are experiencing the same monster problem as we did it wouldn't hurt to pick up your own bottle of "Monster Spray" from the special store filled with all of mom and dad's magical supplies!