How to Deal With Monsters Under the Bed This Halloween

With Halloween approaching we thought it might be a good time to tackle a topic that seems to rear it’s ugly head during the bedtimes of little ones all across the globe – monsters under the bed. Children’s active imaginations means they can often conjure up thoughts and bad dreams that make them worry about monsters hiding under their cabin beds, in the cupboard and even behind the curtains. Thankfully, in recent years the Disney Pixar Monsters Inc series has gone some way to quelling little ones’ fears of creatures that could be lurking out of sight until bedtime, but what can you do if your child gets an attack of the heebie jeebies and refuses to sleep without the light on? Here are few ideas you may want to try out. Magical monster spray One creative dad in the US decided to tackle the monsters under the bed head on with the use of a magical monster spray. We use sprays to deter flies and mosquitos, so it’s not too much of a stretch of the imagination for kids to imagine them deterring monsters too. You can read about the gentleman’s cool idea for getting rid of unwanted visitors in this Huffington Post article. Why not make your own monster spray? All you’ll need is a freshly labelled spray bottle and water, though you could choose to add fine glitter to the water too if you don’t mind it being sprayed around! Sharing bedrooms We recently shared our ideas for avoiding tantrums in shared bedrooms but one of the major benefits of little ones sharing rooms is the fact they can often be reassured by the presence of the other sibling, particularly if one child is older. The older child also has the opportunity to take on a protective role, keeping any monsters at bay! Rebrand monsters We’ve all told our kids that there is no reason to be afraid of the dark and there are a lots of ways to help children overcome this fear, so many they deserve a blog post of their own. So for now, why not concentrate on proving their fear of monsters is irrational? Settle down as a family to watch the Monsters Inc series and show just how misunderstood monsters might be or watch some child friendly nature documentaries featuring placid but unusual looking creatures. Do you have a child who is afraid of monsters under the bed? Perhaps you have some tips on overcoming this type of fear? We’d love to hear your ideas!