Aren’t you looking for a good parenting tip to help you put your children into bed smoothly? You know what I mean; you had a tough day and you are looking forward to a relaxing night. Unfortunately, your children have other things in mind. They don’t mean to give you a hard time but they are scared to go to bed and they give one excuse after the other to push off going into bed. In this article I will present to you 5 things to do or to watch out for to ease your child’s fears of going to bed.
1. Show empathy. Even if YOU are one hundred convinced that there are no monsters under their bad waiting to eat them or robbers outside the 5th floor window, in their minds these fears are true. Listen to what they have to say and don’t mock them. Take out time during the day (before their bedtime) to hear them out and have them come to the conclusion that there is really nothing to be afraid of or some other solution.
2. After this, reassure them (over and over again) that you are in the other room and if anything happens they can just call you. If possible, it is a good idea to go in the room at 5 or 10 minute intervals, until they fall asleep to reassure them that they are not alone.
3. Another idea, which is one step more than showing empathy, is to use fabricated remedies for fabricated fears. If your child is afraid of monsters then take a spray bottle and fill it with “monster spray”. Don’t do this, though, in a mocking way, but keep a straight face when you fill the spray bottle with monster spray. Remember, in his mind there really is a monster who is trying to get into the bedroom.
4.Plug in a night light. Let’s face it, darkness is scary. When we don’t see what is in front of us then we can imagine anything, and that “anything” that we imagine can be very frightening. Therefore, I see nothing wrong as long as it does not interfere with their sleep.
5. Avoid frightening TV shows, videos, and video games. Hollywood writers get paid lots of money to make their shows seem real and to effect our emotions and they do a very good job at it. Therefore, your child’s fear at night might simply be a reaction to a show they watched. Keep them away from these shows for at least an hour before they go to bed and they will fall asleep much calmer.
If you look forward to a quiet evening but your child’s fears make bedtime a disaster and shatters any hope that you’ll have a relaxing evening, then follow the above guidelines and you will see that your child will go into bed and fall asleep quickly and easily and you will get that quiet evening that you are so worthy of.
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