Normally, most toddlers develop bedtime fears more especially when they visualize the scary darkness of the room. You would want to help them deal with the situation and eventually overcome such a fear as being Scared Of The Dark. Otherwise, the child will stay up all night and eventually affect her sleeping habits leading to sleep phobia. The recommendations detailed in the section that follows may guide you in helping your toddler handle her fears.
Listening to her
Some toddlers may refuse to go to bed due to heightened bedtime fears. Whenever that happens, you would want to let the child open to you and let you know why they are not sleeping. When they grumble and detest going to bed alone, you would want to listen attentively before interjecting to give a solution. You would want to avoid forcing them into bed when they don’t want. Some children don’t know how to tell that that they are Scared Of The Dark in the bedroom. All they can do is detest or stay awake all the time. You should be able to tell when a child is struggling with such fears and help them conquer them.
Avoid supporting her fears
If you are determined to help them conquer their bedtime fears, you would want to avoid building on such fears. Otherwise, they will find it challenging to overcome the fears as they grow. You would want to show them they you do not believe in their exaggerated imaginations. In that case, you should avoid any action that gives away your confidence. Overall, you would want instill courage in the toddler as opposed compounding the fear.
Make them relax
Bedtime fears may worsen in a child who is always jumpy. In other words, you would want to calm her down if she is to conquer her fears. To succeed in this, you would want to let her tell you what would make her comfortable sleeping in her bed. You can make suggestions aimed to relax her and make her sleep comfortably. Suggestively, you can buy her a security toy to boost her sense of confidence and relaxation while sleeping. With time, she will be bold sleeping without any security toy.
Lighting the room
Most toddlers who develop bedtime fears may actually fear the darkness in their room and leads to them being Scared Of The Dark. In that case, you can keep the lights open while the toddler sleeps. In other words, the open light will create feelings of security in the toddler while they are asleep.
Exercising parental control over toddlers cartoons and movies
Some cartoons or movies may expose toddlers to scary images and events. This creates exaggerated imaginations when they are sleeping in the dark of their beds. You would want to control what your toddler is exposed to lest they tale stall of your imaginations and disrupt their sleep. Equally, you would want to monitor the storybooks they are reading or fairly tales they might be listening to lest they affect their comfort during sleep long after the events are over.
SEE ALSO: Are You Having Trouble Conquering Your Childhood Fears. Find Out Why
SEE ALSO: Is It Bad To Spank Your Child? Will It Affect Your Child In The Future
Add Comment