3 Year Old Not Wanting to Take a Nap Because Scared

Ok forgive me, because this is from personal experience but is it possible this is a control thing and he isn't afraid at all? Mine went through a phase where she was all of a sudden "scared" to do anything she didn't feel like doing, including nap. And there were times she would actually convince herself that she was scared, but it was more a battle of wills. . . . the suggestions below are good, we did similar things, but on top of that, we had to learn not to "play into it" if you know what I mean. "I'm sorry you are scared, but you are safe and it's nap time now". It just depends on their little personalities :-). Whatever the case, good luck. Naptime is precious!

Open the closet and show him there are no bees (he maybe had a nightmare about those).

Get a spray bottle and fill it with water - and tell him it's 'scared spray' and if he's scared, he can spray it on the thing that is scary.

Some kids do give up naps at that age - if he'll rest instead by himself quietly, I'd be super happy about that!!

My daughter is almost three and started talking about imaginary things (a bear in our backyard, etc) and I just let it go. I think it's normal to have fears at this age. Not sure how long it lasts?

The Mickey Mouse thing was a good idea and if your son believes in it, then keep doing it. When my oldest daughter was about 4 years old she started having bad dreams at night. What settled her down was putting a dreamcatcher on her bed post, which we told her would catch all the bad dreams and only let through the good ones. She very much believed in it . . . mind over matter . . . and her bad dreams went away. Seems like the same thing with your son . . . if he believes Mickey is protecting him, then he'll feel safe. As for the napping though . . . seems like your son is in the stages of giving up his nap, so don't be surprised if more and more he doesn't actually sleep!

It's hard to put a timeframe on this type of behavior . . . it is just something they grow out of. My daughter is now 15 and to this day still always has a dreamcatcher on her bedpost. I think she's a bit superstitious about it now . . . she intellectually knows it doesn't really catch bad dreams but she's had one for so long now that not having one would be too strange!

Is he actually hearing something in the closet that sounds like bees? Perhaps the air conditioner duct is vibrating or something like that - and this year he's old enough and observant enough to notice it. Just a thought :) good luck!