Afraid of the Dark - Murfreesboro,TN

I would take him to shop for a night light. Let him pick it out. There are some very neat ones. There's one that shines on the ceiling with all the heavens shown. There are others with other themes. There's a fish one I think. She can also buy a noise machine that has about 8 different sounds. The bubbling brook is lovely, my granddaughter has that one.Set him up and talk about how important it is for the body to rest, and that is why there is night, for us to sleep and rejuvenate. Good luck.

We keep a low level led night light in my daughters room and have recently started using "scare away" spray. What is scare away spray? The perfect thing for a fearful child :D Its a spray bottle filled with water and 30 drops of lavender essential oil. Lavender is a calming eo that helps with sleep and fears. So every night when we put my daughter to bed I saturate the room in her "scare away" spray and she is happy as a clam.

Another thing that helps is to talk about the importance of the dark, and how it helps the plants rest, and people and animals rest. Letting a child stay up late one night and letting them explore the backyard in the dark is fun too. I did this with my nephew when he was afraid of the dark, and we went around the yard with a flash light and found all the sources to the noises we heard and I explained them to him.

She could do several things actually. First thing is to find the root of his fear. Is is just the dark? Are there monsters in his room? Are the shadows coming for him?

-let him sleep with the light on
-Buy him a cool looking night light, lamp, or those motion lamps that put pretty designs on the ceiling. Even a lava lamp could work
-Give him a stuffed version of his favorite superhero to sleep with. (My 5 year old sleeps with a giant Spiderman)
-another mom mentioned flashlights
-Have mom or dad "check" the closet and under the bed for monsters before tucking him in at night. My husband actually went into the closet and "beat the monster up" to staisfy our sons
-But blackout curtains up on the windows to keep the shadows out
-if possible, re-arrange the room so his bed is as close to the door as possible, so he can feel like he has a quick escape route
-don't ever chastize him for being afraid
-buy him a radio/cd player so he can listen to music while drifting off to sleep. That'll help minimize the "scary sounds" of a quite house.
-If he gets up in the middle of the night, cuddle him until he's calmed down, then walk/carry him back to bed. Repeat as needed.
-be patient and consistant!

I know this is a bit long, but there are numerous reasons for a kid to be afraid of the dark, and she needs to find out exactly what it is about the dark that scares him. Maybe taking him for a walk at night to show him how beautiful it actually is could help as well, she can point out the nocturnal animals, the moon, the stars and other things for him to see.

I would put a little bed light in his room.

Hope it works Vicki

what about a night light or small lamp in his room, or leaving the door cracked open with the hall light on. is there something specific he's afraid of? like monsters under the bed or something, or did he see something on tv that might have scared him. what about having mommy and daddy come in and do a "monster check" before and show him that there is nothing there...i've heard of some parents givng their kids "monster spray"...just a water bottle with a little food coloring or glitter or some sort of essential oil to scent it, that the kid can spray around the room to keep the monsters away. if it was something on tv, she needs to make sure to monitor what he watches, but also explain that that stuff is pretend and even though it looks real and scary, it's not and it won't come out of the tv and hurt him...it's jsut people dressed up in costumes like on halloween. hope this helps.

Get him a night light, or a small lamp.......

you can buy a cool looking lamp for him to look at it at night, have his mom or dad lie down with him until he falls asleep, I have a 4 year old son who has slept in the bed with me since he was born, He is scared to leave his closet door open, I have to shut it while he is watching tv at night, But if he falls asleep he wakes up crying and scared, most of the time he just goes to bed with us in the beginning, I let him, b/c I know he will want to sleep in his own bed one day and I will miss that. Tell your firend good luck. J.

I enjoyed reading the other responses you've gotten. My oldest was VERY afraid of the dark (he got it honest from a childhood trauma) and he has succeeded in making "afraid of the dark" a family tradition! We use night lights, hall lights, leaving the doors propped open, VERY SPECIFIC prayer, special loveys, and those cool snap and glow light sticks. If you retrieve the glow sticks once they are asleep and place them in the freezer, the light will last more than one night. My oldest now likes to sleep in complete utter darkness in complete teenager privacy in the basement bedroom that doesn't even have a window!

I have done two things to get rid of that fear...one is a fish tank in the room with a cover coming down halfway over it so the light shines through very faintly, it also gives them something to watch and its quite peaceful. In my other daughters room I put those glowing stars and solar system stickers all over the ceiling, it doesn't give off much light but it worked for her.
A suggestion I got from another mommy on here was a half door. I think this is a great idea, go get a cheap door and cut it in half so some light comes through from the hall but there's still a door there to keep him in his room.
Another suggestion I got was to ask my girls what was scary about their room and change the room around to their liking, they can decide what would make them feel better about sleeping in their own roon in their own beds...I haven't tried this one yet but its in the plans :)

Good luck

I hope this helps

E.

Hi!
I have a son that will be 10 in August and he is also afraid of the dark. We finally got him to sleep in his room but he wants the light on. If we know is asleep really good then we will turn the light off but most of the time he winds up sleeping with it on all night. On the occassions where we turn it off, if he wakes up and it is off then he will go to the couch for the rest of the night, for some reason he does not need a light on in there.
So the best recommendation I can make to her is to offer night lights, or even leave the light on but also offer him an alternative to when he wakes in the night and is scared. If he knows he can go to the couch then he is not waking anyone else and all will get a good nights sleep.
Good Luck!

give him a flashlight that he can turn on himself, and shine around the room. they have a really cute one at wal-mart, in the toy department, that looks like a hipo, or a cow or pig.