My 3 year old is seeing a "girl" in his room.?

Question

My 3 YO son woke up crying. I went into his room and he said, "Keep me safe." I asked from what and he said, "That girl is here and she's trying to take my breath." I laid with him for a bit and my 1 YO starting crying in her room. My son said that the girl was in sister's room trying to take her breath. I stayed until he fell back asleep and he slept all night. The next night when he went to bed he starts crying after ten minutes. I went to check on him, he said, "I need someone to protect me." He had huge tears so I know he is not acting for attention, but my question is how I can assure him that there is no girl in his room. I asked him if he wanted to lie in our bed and he said yes, but I couldn't go back downstairs b/c "that girl will come in here too." Is he old enough to understand a dream? He went to sleep in his own bed with a nightlight, hall light on, a little flash light, and his Pooh Bear to protect him. Any suggestions on how to make him less afraid?

Answer 1

Sounds like your son is exercising his imagination and is trying to find ways to get into bed with you.  Yeah he had huge tears because he has decided to believe what his imagination cooked up.  I suggest getting a spray bottle, fill it with water and just a couple drops of perfume and maybe a couple drops of food coloring.  Give this to your son and tell him it's a replelant that will work to get rid of "the girl" in his room.  Spray his room before he gets into bed the leave it near his bed where he can grab it and spray if he wakes up in the middle of the night.

Answer 2

Has this happened more than once? If not, I would guess that he had a fever and was hallucinating or having bad dreams. My son woke up terrified one night when he had a bad fever and was staring into the dark saying "they're coming to get me".

I wouldn't feed his fear other than comforting him. It could easily become an attention grabbing habit that will ensure you show up in their room when they are supposed to be sleeping.

Answer 3

Call T.A.P.S

Answer 4

It's possible there is a demonic ghost in your house, isn't there? If you are religious in any way, please go to the leader (priest, etc.) of your religious convent and ask for advice. They are trained in getting rid of demons and ghosts.

It is possible he could be paranoid or schizophrenic, although that usually is more obvious as you progress into teenage years. You could always have him evaluated by a therapist.

Answer 5

put a nightlight in the room and turn the TV off an hour before bed.  reassure your child.  some of us have more active dreams.

Answer 6

kids see things we dont, maybe the girl is there? it could be a dream, dont tell him the girl isnt there, coach him how to talk to the girl to go away, he could say i want to sleep please leave me alone, and let him know she is not stealing his breath she is trying to wake hime to play

Answer 7

You need to ask him if he ever does it again, if he only sees her when his eyes are shut or does he see her when his eyes are open? I mean I am not ruling out ghosts here but it sounds weird he would come up with that at 3 yrs old by himself..is he watching scary movies that you may not know about and just recaping them in his sleep, after only 10 minutes and he is already crying, you would think he is still awake after only 10 minutes of being in bed, and if he was sleeping say 4 or 6 of those minutes and he is already dreaming about this girl after such a short time alseep..that is very odd. You might want to watch what he sees on tv and if it keeps up I would take him to a doc to see if they can get deeper inside of what he is seeing and where and when and how...Maybe a good bedtime book before bed will make him dream of the story you just told instead the girl. Good Luck I will check back to see what is said, I am an expecting mother my self and would like to see how to handle this other than my own sugestions..

Answer 8

when my son sees 'monsters" i give him a spray bottle with "monster repellent"

Answer 9

Has your son been around any horror movies playing on tv? I know there are quite a few movies who have little kids ghosts/spirits that focus/talk to the kids in the movie?

Another suggestion is maybe there is actually a spirit there. It could be someone who died in the home, or like you said a dream he may have had that scared him.

That would be so sad to see your little guy scared like that, just keep and eye on him. Talk to him when it day time about the things that interrupts his sleep at night, and tell him you'll never let anything hurt him.

You could even set up a camcorder if it gets to the point to where you want to check to see if you can 'see' anything and see how his sleep patterns are.   Good Luck dear.