Scared grandaughter

what a great idea gillybob

I dont know if this has already been suggested but some people make "monster repellent spray" (water & lavender oil) and put it in a spritz bottle. She could take this into other rooms with het and spray the room from the door before entering?

At 5 the imagination is VERY active & it can be morbid. You do hear some very dark themes from this age and they can talk about dark things with their friends. Thats not unusual

I like that one gillybob.

I posted about this some time back but anyway for supernanaunal .......Many years ago when my oldest granddaughter was around 4-5 she developed a fear of going to bed. We had to open wardrobe doors and look under the bed, in the toy box, behind curtains etc. to check for monsters. This was passed directly onto her little sister then aged 3. She would wake up at night screaming that something was "getting her" or that she had seen a monster in her dreams. She had a very vivid imagination.

Subsequently "Sweet Dream Spray" was born.

I took a bottle of M&S Grapefruit and Ginger room spray, peeled the label off and made a new label for it complete with moons and stars and a pretty logo. The writing on the bottle said "Sweet Dream Spray for little Girls"...... 4 short sprays in the room to guarantee sweet dreams.....made in england...... etc. I even packaged it in a jiffy bag and they opened it eagerly.

They were so convinced that it worked, so it did. Moving on many years we have gone through several bottles and have had to adapt our logo a bit to include "little boys" but they are now 12,10 and 8 and I still use it every night they sleep at mine. Of course the girls know deep down that this is something that grandma made up (although I totally deny it of course) but they still remind me to spray it.

scroge is it water on her face she is afraid of? Children do sometimes develop this at her age. You can buy a thing that stops the shampoo or water going anywhere near her face
Loads of different ones- this is Tesco
www.tesco.com/direct/clippasafe-shampoo-eye-shield/114-3202.prd?source=others

I slept with a light on until I lived with DH.

sroge how about trying dry shampoo?

My sister had a stuffed toy crocodile, who slept under her pillow. His skills included eating nightmares and any monster who dared to go into the room.

My little granddaughter, aged nearly 3, hates having her hair washed. She will scream the place down and really kick off. My daughter is heavily pregnant and finds this increasingly difficult. Myself and her husband have also tried but it causes so much distress that we've given up. Consequently she hasn't had her hair washed for nearly a month! Any tips gratefully received!

Farnorth I think that illustrates very well how children mishear or misunderstand things that make them worry unnecessarily.

After we moved house, my DS told me he'd been a bit worried about seeing the giraffe in the hall at our previous house.
He'd heard us talking about the terrible draught!

I didn't grow out of it. I think it would be good to help her if possible now.

Lots of good ideas. Has she got a favourite soft toy? Or one that could replace the adult. You could just take it with both of you to begin with then try to persuade her to go with just the toy

I was scared stiff of monsters, ghosts, and everything that could possibly go bump in the night as a child.
I can remember my mum checking under my bed, and in the wardrobe whilst I lay quaking in bed!
I don't think I ever got cured, as such; I just grew out of it.

Please find a way to cure her of this. I was like this and used to creep into my mum and dad's bed at night for years! I am 67 and still scared. My husband is out at guitar group and when I finish this I will be going upstairs and checking all the bedrooms including inside the wardrobes! And I will hate if I have to go to the loo before he comes home. Laugh but its not funny. Its worth taking time to explore what has caused this and tackle it.

Lots of children go through similar phases and come out the other side. One of mine thought there was a monster on the back landing and needed a handhold there for a while. Another stuck to me like a limpet for a while - I later discovered that she had read Charlotte's Web, in which the mother spider dies and it suddenly brought home to her that mothers die.

I think the trick is to take it seriously on one level - because their fear is real - but also to convey the unreality of the thing they fear; e.g. "Yes - I am happy to come with you to the loo (or wherever) but I am sure you know there is no monster in there." - or whatever is appropriate to the situation. That way she has two reassurances: one that you understand her fear and will not make her deal with it alone, but that the thing she fears is not there.

I have just had a thought! Does she mean the moony cow on the milk advert it's made in a spooky way,with weird music and people saying they have seen it ,and the weird music plays in the background! To a young child I can see that would scare her!
Ask her for she saw it on the TV! At five ,they are full of fears,and don't understand them!
Best with her while she is like this ,she will get better,if she has a favourite toy,take the toy to the toilet at home and say so and so has checked it all out and it's fine!
Talk to her teacher at school they can buddy her up with a more confident child,that can work brilliantly! The more confident child love the fact the are caring for some one else!
At this age things pass quickly!
I taught primary and secondary school for years ,and have seen this before!
Remember to ask me ran out the advert( it's for cravendale milk) that has a cow monster!

I clearly remember being under 5 and becoming scared to go up the stairs to bed because I was convinced the shadows on the staircase was a wolf's head, that and the moon was staring at me, just me, no one else! I think a lot of children have an overactive imagination and those fears become very real to them. I'm sure your granddaughter will grow out of this stage op.

We used to have a cricket club in our village, and one day the Bodach and I were discussing the fact that no local people played cricket, and one of us must have used the word ‘ strangers’.
Son 1 suddenly refused to go out to play, becoming quite distressed if we were going out. It transpired that he had had the ‘ never talk to strangers’ talk at school, and his teacher had possibly been a bit over zealous! So we never know just what’s going on in their wee brains !

My DGS when about 4/ 5 suddenly became really afraid at bedtime. He was afraid of undefined "monsters". His cousin, DGD1 7 yrs his senior, decided to make a big poster for him saying "No monsters allowed in Stanley's room" & stuck it on his bedroom door. He was fine after that!
If your granddaughter can articulate what her fear is about it is easier to reassure but often they don't know. Build up her confidence by supporting her so far but encouraging her to do the last step on her own and gradually build up where you step back. It is a real balance between feeding her fear by wanting to comfort her and building up confidence and letting her see her fears are unfounded.

She’s probably seen a video or heard a story about a cow monster It ll pass make no fuss at all just go with her when she asks and make sure dad and granddad just make light if it
Two of my grandkids hated spiders and I live in an old Victorian house there would be screams from the loo at times and they would freak each other out so I made them into characters we had Margery in the toilet and she’d had to leave her kids at home and Colin was hanging around the window I d weave stories around they They still as teens both hate spiders but it did stop the hyspsterics at the time

Thanks OldMeg, I'll get some lavender to spray on the dogs who go doolally if the invisible monster appears at the window.

That is a little known fact paddyann monsters indeed hate lavender

lavender dream spray ,use it on her bed and as an air freshener,dont you know that monsters ...of all types ..hate lavender? My GD went through a similar phase and this worked a trat ,the lavender is very calming too which is never a bad thing with a 5 year old.Hopefully your monster hates the same as ours .

She has mentioned a cow monster, whatever that is. She usually asks me to go with her - I think because I treat it very casually whereas her dad and granddad make a big deal of it. I think I need to have chat with them!

Her dad was a very unconfident child - very insecure - and followed me everywhere until he was about seven. He's forgotten that, of course!

This only started about a month ago, though she's been here for eighteen months. There certainly hasn't been any ill-treatment or abuse - thanks for that suggestion, M0nica!

Thanks for all the responses - it's nice to know that it will eventually end.

Thanks,
Una.