Sometimes talking about monsters is a fun game. She tells me that they are in my ear and I need to eat them. Sometimes we have the tickle monster. Sometimes she hides and is scared of monsters. Yesterday in the car she was hiding under her blanket and said she was hiding from a monster. I told her that we should pray that God would make her not scared of the monsters and that they would go away. She did not want to pray but a few minutes later, on her own, this is what I heard.
"Dear Jesus, help the monsters go away so I not be scared anymore. Amen"
I know that monsters are pretend but they may be real and scary to her. I want her to know that she can go to God and ask him for anything. It was sweet to hear this prayer.
Another night last week Katherine woke up crying. When Sam went in she said that she had a scary dream. So far all of her dreams have been about the ABC's and they are dancing (I think she watches too much Sesame Street). She could not tell him what this dream was about but she was certainly scared.
I know that being scared of monsters and having nightmares is a normal developmental phase. I just hope that I handle it well. How do you handle your scared toddlers?
4 comments:
Ava first started talking about monsters after Monsters, Inc. She believes there are monsters on the roof, but she is satisfied knowing there aren't any doors on the roof for the monsters to come in. She also will not leave her closet door open for any reason at ANY time.
I don't know that Ethan has been afraid of monsters. He tells me sometimes there are things that scare him, a noise, a light, etc. I'm sure monsters have been part of that. We just comfort him and tell him that God is with him and protects him. With Him we do not need to be afraid, and we pray. Sometimes it works. It is definitely that stage of life.
Ethan is the one who talks about being scared at this point. So, we pray with him every night before he goes to bed. I know he has real fears because he will come running through the house sometimes if a room is dark and look more afraid than I have ever seen him. My favorite recently to pray over him/for him is Joshua 1:9" ...be strong and courageous....the Lord your God is with you whereever you go."
You might give her some ideas of things to tell the scary monsters to go and do when they 'visit' her. She could tell them to leave her room and go eat a banana, brush their teeth, play with the dog, talk to Daddy, etc. The monsters seem very real to her, so maybe if she imagines them walking out the door to do something that will seem real to her as well.
Another note on scary dreams: If our kids wake up from a scary dream we always ask them if they'd like to tell us about it. If they say 'no', then we do not make them tell us about it. (Even though as a mommy I REALLY want to know all about what made them so scared.) Yet, sometimes retelling the dream can make things worse. They just need to know that they are safe now.
This is a yucky part of parenting, but it sounds like you are handling it well.
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