I was flying, and then the monster took me outside
The night before last, Sage awoke several times in the middle of the night, in a frenzied state and didn’t want to go back to sleep. She had a pretty rough night, which in turn meant that I did as well. She was distraught but she didn’t say anything other than ask if she could watch Dora’s Animals.
We were riding home from daycare last night and Sage suddenly realized that it was starting to get dark. She quickly explained to me that she would not be going to sleep this night and that she was just going to watch tv and play. I told her that we would go home, have dinner, play, have bath-time and that yes, she would be going to bed as usual.
She got really quite and whispered “I’m not going to let that monster take me again.” I kind of giggled to myself until I realized that she was serious. She was remembering the nightmare she had the night before and she was scared. She told me that she was flying (she had been playing in her fairy tu-tu) and that the monster came and took her outside and wouldn’t let me have her back.
I tried so many different ways to explain to her that it didn’t really happen and that it was a dream. Anyone ever tried explaining a dream to a two-year old child who isn’t grasping the concept yet? I tried to explain it as she was watching tv, in her head, while she was asleep. That did not work well because as she so eloquently put it “it would hurt if I had a tv in my head.” In the end, she still thinks that she was flying and that a monster stole her from me.
Bedtime did not go well last night and I am dreading this evening even more. I have no idea how to make her understand that there are no monsters lurking in the shadows, waiting for her to fall asleep so they can whisk her out into the cold and leave her alone. I don’t want to agree with her and then come up with something to keep them at bay, as some that I know have done. I want to truly get past the belief in the imaginary monsters of her childhood. I just don’t know how.
So much for that psychology major!
We were riding home from daycare last night and Sage suddenly realized that it was starting to get dark. She quickly explained to me that she would not be going to sleep this night and that she was just going to watch tv and play. I told her that we would go home, have dinner, play, have bath-time and that yes, she would be going to bed as usual.
She got really quite and whispered “I’m not going to let that monster take me again.” I kind of giggled to myself until I realized that she was serious. She was remembering the nightmare she had the night before and she was scared. She told me that she was flying (she had been playing in her fairy tu-tu) and that the monster came and took her outside and wouldn’t let me have her back.
I tried so many different ways to explain to her that it didn’t really happen and that it was a dream. Anyone ever tried explaining a dream to a two-year old child who isn’t grasping the concept yet? I tried to explain it as she was watching tv, in her head, while she was asleep. That did not work well because as she so eloquently put it “it would hurt if I had a tv in my head.” In the end, she still thinks that she was flying and that a monster stole her from me.
Bedtime did not go well last night and I am dreading this evening even more. I have no idea how to make her understand that there are no monsters lurking in the shadows, waiting for her to fall asleep so they can whisk her out into the cold and leave her alone. I don’t want to agree with her and then come up with something to keep them at bay, as some that I know have done. I want to truly get past the belief in the imaginary monsters of her childhood. I just don’t know how.
So much for that psychology major!
posted by Tammy at 4:16 PM
1 Comments:
Sorry, can't help. When Ethan wouldn't stay in his room because of the "monster in the closet," Ali was frantic. I went over and he and I built a "fairy house". We put it in a bowl, with water & grass. I told him that when he was sleeping, the faeries would watch over him. He bought it hook, line & sinker and still changes the water in the bowl so the faeries have nice water.
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