Mine is, apparently. Just when I was having illusions that co-sleeping would stop my daughter from experiencing the night time fears that I had as a child, I am once again proven wrong.
My daughter is having a very hard time getting to sleep. Usually bed time involves a story, a song, and a back rub until she goes to sleep, which is usually pretty quickly. Lately, the process has taken an hour or more. Apparently there are monsters living by the side of the bed.
I have tried my good mommy wisdom. We talked about the monsters. We talked to the monsters and asked them to please find somewhere else to live. We may even make somewhere else for them to live. We talked about getting a monster-repellent night light, although I am not fond of having lights on during the night.
We have also discussed the dark and how we need the dark to sleep. I’ve done a meditation with my daughter as I rubbed her back, talking about the dark as warm, cozy blanket.
Did the fears disappear? No such luck.
I know that fear of the dark is a primal sort of fear. After all, when we lived closer to the land, the dark was a mysterious place that was truly full of potential dangers. I’m sure that our brains still fear this place, especially when we’re four. I am not fond of sleeping by myself, even today.
So what do we do as parents when our children express fears of the dark? I’ve tried not to negate her fear. I’ve acknowledged the fear and tried to work with it. Perhaps I just wait. Like all other things, this will pass, and so will the frustration of trying to get a scared child to go to bed.
What do you do when your child is afraid of the dark?