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As kids reach preschool age, their imagination seems to really kick in. From personal experience I know that listening to the plays that come out of my three year old’s bedroom as she plays with the different stuffed animals, can be better than listening to the TV. At the same time that she started to come up with the plays, she started to come up with the idea of monsters.
I had hoped that this wouldn’t be a problem. She had been exposed to sci-fi shows from an early age, as well as superhero movies on top of the disney movies that every toddler gets. She would get a bit scared but refused to let us change the channel on anything. We tried to make sure she had an appropriate varied watch however, and when she was really afraid, she told us and we changed the channel.
Now every day has become a struggle with monsters. I say day because the monsters seem to be a bit more active during the day for my little one. Mini dinosaur monsters that hang out down the dark hallway.
We have have tried several different things, including some tips from fellow moms from online forums. The biggest thing that seemed to be mentioned on the forums was making a spray bottle: an anti-monster spray and allowing the child to spray it where they saw the monsters. This way the monsters would go away and leave them alone. It could be done any time it was needed, until eventually you didn’t need to do it any longer. This wasn’t something that worked in this household. Though she did like to spray it all over the place, because who doesn’t like a spray bottle filled with water and a bit of lemon juice with sparkles?
Since she is really into My Little Ponies, I decided to take advantage of that. One of the ponies has powerful magic, and since my little one has a powerful imagination, I told her that the pony would be able to keep all the monsters away with her magic. This only worked for a day, but I did find that it was passable to whatever stuffed animal was popular that day. Highly recommended if your child has stuffed animals that they love, especially if they travel to different homes. She was able to keep her stuffed animal with her whether she was with me or at her father’s house.
The biggest thing that I would have to say that has worked however, is simply saying that I’m stronger than all the monsters. I told her that parents love their babies so much that the monsters stay away, and if they come close we always kick their “booties”. Now whenever she get scared, she calls me into her room and asks me to kick the monsters booties, and I go in and make a show and leave. It’s simple and effective.
There are many parenting forums available for you to browse through if you’re having a problem with monsters and your little one. The biggest thing that might help will be that other parents are also going through the very same thing. Eventually you will find something that works. When it’s two in the morning and I can’t kick booties, I can sing, and that works. Like most things you need to find out what works to keep your child feeling safe, and works in your life.
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