advertisement
-
Not because of his crazy obsession with R’s or his ability to be obese one minute and skinny the next.
I can live with that. In fact, I love those things.
No I curse him, or blame him I should say, for our toddler being afraid to sleep in the dark.
He won’t sleep without the light on. And what’s worse, if we turn the light off after he’s asleep, he wakes up in the middle of the night screaming for the light on. Or, some nights if he wakes up and the light is still on, he gets up and walks around the house like it’s time to get ready for his day. Seems it’s so light in his room it energizes him. Never mind it’s usually only 3:30 in the morning.
Yep, this is our life these days.
This is a child who has never shown fear of anything. Climbing steps at 9 months, going down the slide by himself at a year. Watching scary dinosaurs and loving every minute.
He’s known no fear.
Until a few weeks ago. That’s when his older brother was watching Scooby downstairs and he sat mesmerized. Loved the dog and the gang and all the funny parts. And he went around the house making the Scooby-dooby-doo noises. Yay!! Another Scooby fan, I loved it.
A day later, though, I saw him watching a scene where Scooby and Shaggy were being chased in the dark by a crazy man with a face that glows. Youngest had his hand in front of his eyes with his fingers spread open just enough for him to see some of the TV.
I turned the channel, thinking it was too much, too scary. But he went crazy, hollering for more Scooby.
We’ve watched it a little more since then, but usually with me or my husband nearby to switch off anything scary.
Trouble is, from that first day on, the damage was done. He refuses to sleep with the light on.
“Too scary,” he says if we try to turn it off.
I know a lot of kids are afraid of the dark, which is why we’ve always been the night light kind of people. According to Google, it’s called Nyctophobia and it’s wildly common with little kids. Especially between 4 and 8 years of age. Call our kid an early bloomer.
Parents, according to the Internet, cling to the night light. But ours no longer works. He must have the full 75 watts.
I keep thinking this is only a phase, that he’ll eventually be able to sleep in the dark again, but I must say I’m beginning to wonder.
Please tell me I won’t have a teenager who refuses to sleep in a dark room.
Thanks, Scoob.
The kids have to have the hall light on when they go to bed. I can't say what is to blame for it, they just do. I wish I could just use a night light, but the hall does't have any outlets in it..the curse of having an older house.We've had many, many kids spend the night over here at age 8, 9, 10 who can't sleep without the light on. ...Maybe I shouldn't have told you that. I love me some Scoob, btw!If it hadn't been the Scoobster, I bet your little guy would have found something else he enjoyed watching that was really scary. Some kiddos, I've noticed, enjoy scaring themselves. Witness the thrill of telling ghost stories at sleep overs and camp outs. When she was a preschooler, my DD absolutely would NOT fall asleep without the ceiling light on. We didn't let that one become a control issue. Just slipped in and turned it off after she fell asleep. Now, at age 9, she's been sleeping without so much as a night light for several years now.My 8 yr old just started wanting a small desk lamp on in her room. She usually sleeps with just her fish tank light, which is too bright in my opinion. Got a fish to put in his room? Won't be associated with day time- we only turn on the fish light at night.My DD went through this, we bought her a turtle/stars ceiling night light -- it really helped. I do agree, if it hadn't been Scooby it would have been something else. But yeah, some of those cartoons that seem so innocent and cool have some weirdly creepy moments, I just don't get it.Um, you might end up with a teen-ager who won't sleep in the dark. I've got one. I have to leave his bedroom door open, the hall light on and the light on in the bathroom in the hall outside his room. And he has to have a fan blowing on him. (You can definitely tell he's my first kid...) Some nights, he's too scared by something he's read or seen on TV to take a shower in the bathroom by himself. He has to bribe his sister or little brother to sit in the bathroom while he's in there (but they can't look at him while he's nekkid.) I love kids.We went through this with eldest DS. Covering eyes and all! We finally told him that in the land of Scooby Doo, Mystery Inc. always gets the bad guy and the "monsters" are only bad guys dressed up in costumes. So, if he started freaking out during a show we said "Just remember...Scooby always wins."The new LED night lights are super bright. DS can't sleep without one. Oh yeah and he loves Scooby much to my dismay.I really think almost every little kid goes through the night light phase, where they need a little bit of light-be it a night light or a door cracked to a lit hallway. Unfortunately, sometimes they don't grow out of it. I think coping skills develop from a mixture of the child itself and the parents' reaction to the fear, but sometimes that fear sets deep and creates a true, nonsensical phobia. I saw the movie Scream when I was 11. Huge mistake. I am now 23 years old, married, with children of my own, and I'm still afraid of the dark. Sleeping with another person in the room (my husband) has helped me to wean myself off of a nightlight, but I still have bad nights sometimes. I don't say any of this to worry you. Mine is a very rare case, and of course every child is different. But there is a possibility it could stick. Just remember that this fear is very, very real to your child, and he requires patience and understanding to get through it.Mine went through this when he was a little older and saw "The Ring," at a friend's house, of course. Maybe you could try starting with a lower-watt bulb in his room, then lower, then maybe just a desk lamp, gradually taking it back down to the nightlight. He'll grow out of this, but I know how tough it is when you're not getting your sleep because he's not getting his! And I'm a huge Scooby fan too!
May 2013 Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 Tagsmoms (38)
teens (34)
tweens (27)
toddlers (22)
school (18)
kids (17)
christmas (14)
boys (12)
parenting (10)
toddler (10)
mom (9)
parents (9)
family (8)
friends (8)
birthdays (6)
children (6)
discipline (6)
money (6)
teenagers (6)
economy (5)
facebook (5)
girls (5)
kindergarten (5)
mom moments (5)
shopping (5)
stress (5)
video games (5)
anxiety (4)
diet (4)
fashion (4)
holidays (4)
husbands (4)
santa (4)
sons (4)
sports (4)
talking (4)
teachers (4)
apple (3)
babies and toddlers (3)
books (3)
chores (3)
coupons (3)
crazy (3)
dad (3)
dads (3)
divorce (3)
driving (3)
exercise (3)
flirting (3)
football (3)
ipad (3)
junior high (3)
lessons (3)
marriage (3)
michael phelps (3)
obama (3)
peer pressure (3)
preschool (3)
sex (3)
sleep (3)
steve jobs (3)
tantrums (3)
worry (3)
brad pitt (2)
bragging (2)
church (2)
class (2)
conferences (2)
craigslist (2)
dancing (2)
death (2)
dogs (2)
embarrassing (2)
emergency room (2)
family time (2)
fat (2)
fighting (2)
finances (2)
fits (2)
fitting in (2)
food (2)
google (2)
guardians (2)
guilt (2)
haircuts (2)
high school (2)
homework (2)
husband (2)
internet (2)
joplin (2)
karma (2)
license (2)
losing weight (2)
manners (2)
mccain (2)
mean (2)
men (2)
olympics (2)
phobias (2)
pictures (2)
presents (2)
questions (2)
saving money (2)
scary (2)
spelling bee (2)
stubborn (2)
style (2)
summer (2)
teacher (2)
teen (2)
toys (2)
tv (2)
vanity (2)
weight loss (2)
wii (2)
wills (2)
writing (2)
(1)
16 (1)
40th (1)
911 (1)
accents (1)
acne (1)
activities (1)
add (1)
addiction (1)
advice (1)
affection (1)
afraid (1)
airplanes (1)
alcohol (1)
allow (1)
anger (1)
apologizing (1)
appreciation (1)
arguments (1)
art (1)
autism (1)
babies (1)
babysitter (1)
babysitting (1)
back to school (1)
backsnacks (1)
bad cop (1)
bad luck (1)
bad mom moments (1)
band (1)
bathroom (1)
beer (1)
belief (1)
belongings (1)
birth (1)
birthday (1)
blogging (1)
body image (1)
bones (1)
bosses (1)
bottoms (1)
bribery (1)
broken bones (1)
brothers (1)
budget (1)
butts (1)
cameras (1)
candy (1)
car keys (1)
carnies (1)
carnivals (1)
cartoons (1)
cheap (1)
cheating (1)
chemistry (1)
childhood hunger (1)
christmas cards (1)
christmas spirit (1)
chubby (1)
cleaning (1)
cleavage (1)
clinton (1)
clothes (1)
clutter (1)
cnn (1)
coaches (1)
cold turkey (1)
comic books (1)
commercialism (1)
commitments (1)
communication (1)
competitive (1)
computers (1)
conference (1)
consoling (1)
cooking (1)
coupon policies (1)
creativity (1)
criticism (1)
crutches (1)
curiosity (1)
custody (1)
dances (1)
date night (1)
daughters (1)
deals (1)
decorations (1)
demi moore (1)
dentists (1)
development (1)
diet coke (1)
dinner (1)
dinner table (1)
dinosaurs (1)
discounts (1)
diseases (1)
drama (1)
dreams (1)
dresses (1)
drinking (1)
dying (1)
eating out (1)
education (1)
election (1)
embarrassing moments (1)
emotional (1)
examples (1)
exhausted (1)
failure (1)
fathers (1)
fear (1)
first day (1)
first day of school (1)
first words (1)
fitness (1)
flu (1)
focus (1)
food costs (1)
forgetfulness (1)
frankenweenie (1)
frugal (1)
frustration (1)
fun (1)
funny (1)
games (1)
garden (1)
gardening (1)
gary lezak (1)
gas prices (1)
gifts (1)
girl (1)
girlfriends (1)
good cop (1)
goth (1)
grades (1)
grammar (1)
grandmas (1)
grandparents (1)
graphic novel (1)
grateful (1)
gray hair (1)
groceries (1)
guys (1)
hair (1)
hair dye (1)
haircut (1)
hairstyle (1)
halloween (1)
hanging out (1)
happiness (1)
healthy (1)
helicopter moms (1)
helmets (1)
heroes (1)
history (1)
hobbies (1)
holiday cards (1)
homecoming (1)
hoodies (1)
hooters (1)
hospice (1)
household chores (1)
how to (1)
hugs (1)
humiliation (1)
humor (1)
hungry (1)
ice (1)
imaginary friends (1)
imagination (1)
immunizations (1)
indiana (1)
indulge (1)
interests (1)
joe biden (1)
journey (1)
junk food (1)
kansas city (1)
kavya shivashankar (1)
kenny rogers (1)
kindness (1)
kisses (1)
labor (1)
late (1)
layoffs (1)
lazy (1)
learning (1)
lena (1)
library (1)
lindsey vonn (1)
long hair (1)
losing (1)
loss (1)
lost (1)
love (1)
love you (1)
mail (1)
makeover (1)
markers (1)
math (1)
matt lauer (1)
memories (1)
messy rooms (1)
michelle obama (1)
mistake (1)
mom guilt (1)
mom2mom (1)
moments (1)
mommy and daddy time (1)
morning (1)
mother-in-law (1)
mothers (1)
motivation (1)
mourning (1)
movies (1)
music (1)
nagging (1)
naked (1)
names (1)
neighbors (1)
neil diamond (1)
neurotic (1)
new year (1)
news (1)
nice (1)
night light (1)
night out (1)
nightmares (1)
no (1)
occupations (1)
old (1)
old-fashioned (1)
opinions (1)
outsmarted (1)
overprotective (1)
ozarks (1)
parade (1)
paranoid (1)
parent involvement (1)
parent involvment (1)
parent-teacher conference (1)
parties (1)
passing gas (1)
passion (1)
peeing (1)
peers (1)
pets (1)
photo (1)
photos (1)
please (1)
polite (1)
politeness (1)
politics (1)
potty (1)
pre teen (1)
preschooler (1)
president (1)
presidents (1)
principals (1)
procrastinating (1)
prom (1)
pto (1)
puberty (1)
punishment (1)
quitting (1)
raise (1)
reading (1)
regrets (1)
relationships (1)
remove tag (1)
resolutions (1)
respect (1)
responsibility (1)
road trip (1)
rude (1)
running (1)
running off (1)
ryan lochte (1)
santa claus (1)
sarah palin (1)
saving (1)
savings (1)
school clothes (1)
school dances (1)
scooby (1)
security blanket (1)
self confidence (1)
self help (1)
self-improvement (1)
sensitive (1)
sexting (1)
shooting (1)
short shorts (1)
shy (1)
sibling rivalry (1)
sick (1)
single mom (1)
single moms (1)
skiing (1)
smiling (1)
smurfberries (1)
smurfs-village (1)
snow (1)
socializing (1)
southwest missouri (1)
speech (1)
spirit (1)
spoiling (1)
sportmanship (1)
spying (1)
status (1)
stinky (1)
stitches (1)
strangers (1)
studying (1)
success (1)
sugar (1)
surveys (1)
susan boyle (1)
swearing (1)
swimming (1)
swimsuit (1)
tact (1)
talent (1)
talkers (1)
tantrum (1)
tardy (1)
target (1)
teaching moments (1)
teen driving (1)
teenage boys (1)
television (1)
temper (1)
terminal (1)
tests (1)
texting (1)
texts (1)
thank-you notes (1)
the great depression (1)
the today show (1)
therapy (1)
thighs (1)
thin girls (1)
tim russert (1)
tornado (1)
tornadoes (1)
tragedies (1)
training (1)
traveling (1)
trayvon martin (1)
trips (1)
trouble (1)
ugly (1)
vacation (1)
vacations (1)
vaccines (1)
video (1)
violence (1)
volunteeing (1)
volunteering (1)
walt disney world (1)
weather (1)
wedding rings (1)
weekends (1)
weight (1)
weight gain (1)
weight watchers (1)
winning (1)
wives (1)
women (1)
words (1)
working (1)
working mom (1)
workplace (1)
worlds of fun (1)
wrestling (1)
x-mas (1)
yelling (1)
yo gabba gabba (1)
younger guy (1)
zuckerberg (1)