How do you help a 2yr old afraid of monsters?

Question

My 2yr old daughter wakes up and says " monsters are in the cellar (basement)". I ask her where are the monsters she points next to her window. I ask were is the cellar and she points next to her window. She is only afraid in the morning. Not at night any suggestions? Thanks

Answer 1

She is probably having nightmares and waking up scared to begin with. This may sound silly, but get the movie Monsters, Inc. and let her watch it. It is NOT scary, and the monsters are nice and funny. My sons were scared of monsters once or twice, and I just tell them that monsters are just pretend and that I would always keep them safe anyway. I have been teaching them about stranger danger, so now the big fear is a stranger coming in and stealing them. It's so hard to make them aware, but not scare them! You could also do a monster check before she goes to bed. Look around with a flashlight, even if it's not dark, and make a fun game out of it. Good luck!

Answer 2

I put a sign on the bedroom door saying "monsters keep out" we then added ghosts, witches, and baddies to this as needed! It worked- also we put him in a cabin bed and he decided that from the added height he would be able to kick any baddie down and wasn't scared anymore! Like the sound of the monster spray though- I saw this advertised in "Hawkins Bazaar" last Christmas

Answer 3

Have her watch the movie Monsters Inc. It is not scary at all and its a great movie with friendly monsters that have to care about a small human child.Also place a sign on her door the reads "Monsters keep out" or since she says that they are outside the window place the sign facing outwards on the window. Get a spray bottle (like from body spritz) and fill it with water. Put a label on it that says Monster Spray and then put a scent into the water. Tell her to spray it where the monsters come from and they wont come any more!

If you dont like those approaches you could always just tell her they are not real and then give her a special teddy or doll that she can go to if she is scared.

I have a daughter who is currently going through the same thing and I am currently trying out different approaches. Good Luck!

Answer 4

Get some 'Monster-rid Spray) - Fill a spray bottle of water and make a sticker for it. Tell you daughter that if she sprays this before she goes to bed, no monsters will come at all. You will surprised at how well it works.

If not, maybe a night light, so that she can see?

Answer 5

I went through this with my little boy  - what we did was to get a spray bottle, fill it with water and a drop or two of lavendar oil (any oil would do, but lavendar is calming).

We then made a label that said monster spray, and told him that if ever monsters were scaring him to get the spray out (although keep it out of reach, get her to ask you for it) and squirt it where the child says the monster is living. It worked a treat for us - it's basically like a 'bug spray' but for monsters.

It's cheap, and really really effective.

Goodluck!

Answer 6

get an oridinary spray bottle and label it with monster spray tell her it is an old family recipe fill with water when she is not around and let her spray the monsters away! good luck

Answer 7

Tell her that there is no such thing as monsters! giving her a spray will make her think they are real!

You could try giving her a teddy and telling her as long as she has it she will be safe.

Answer 8

Do you leave her curtains open? If so it is possible that she sees something outside. How about a tree possibly rubbing against the widow panes that she might hear.

Kids, like all of us,  fear the unknown. She must confront these "monsters." I suggest you take her outside or wherever these monsters are located immediately when she's mentions them to show her that they don't exist.  

My cousin's son does something similar when he spends the night at our house. When the house makes all the noises associated with a house settling he refuses to go down stairs by himself because "they're monsters down there

(on the first level)."  Because he doesn't "see"  the house making noise and doesn't understand what it means for the house to settle, we simply told him that's the way the house says goodnight. He still won't go downstairs by himself at night but that could be because of the darkness.