Sometime between the age of three-and-a-half and four-and-a-half, the monsters under the bed (and in the closet, behind the curtain, in the hamper, etc) start to appear. Your preschooler may suddenly be afraid to sleep alone in her own bed and may describe bad dreams or associate noises in the home with monsters.
Why is this happening? Well, there are a number of reasons. The preschooler is now at an age where she is growing in a few developmental ways. Her imagination is really taking off. You may witness a lot of imaginative play that involves complete story lines with dolls or toys. She may pick up a book and make up a story to go with the pictures, or she may tell you all about a new person that you just met.
At the same time, your preschooler is starting to realize that there are things out of her control. No longer the demanding toddler, she has a sense that there may be bad things that could harm people.
Finally, monsters may be a sign that there is a conflict with an actual person. Sometimes monsters can unconsciously represent people. And sensitive preschoolers may be subject to dreams about monsters as a reaction to being yelled, punished or having been spoken to harshly. A new neighbor or even a stranger at the park who seems mysterious could trigger thoughts of monsters. When monsters hit our home, here are some of the things that we do, depending on the child.
Give the child extra positive attention.
Explain that monsters can’t get into our home (as a Christian family, we decided to have our home blessed when we moved in, so we remind her of that spiritual protection through God).
Break out the monster spray. This is water colored with food coloring and sometimes scented a bit. We can spray the monster spray around the room for added protection. Since monsters hate this spray, they stay away.
Examine our own behavior and the environment. Has there been a lot of upheaval lately? Have we been overly harsh with discipline or tone of voice?
Offer some coping suggestions for dreams such as the idea of having a magic wand that turns the monster into something silly such as a pink fairy.
How do you deal with the monsters in your preschooler’s imagination?
Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, creating a home in the Home Blog, caring for little ones in the Baby Blog and now relationships in the Marriage Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here or subscribe to the blog using the subscription box on the right.
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