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parenting

How Do I Get Rid of Monsters?

How do I get rid of Monsters? Every single parent knows there comes a time when you ask yourself how do I get rid of monsters? How do I get my child to stop thinking there are monsters hiding in the closet or under the bed? How to get rid of monsters is something you will get good at. Trust me.

 

We have found several ways to get your child to sleep again. At one point my youngest was super convinced there were monsters hiding in her closet. Luckily that passed, but not without a bit of work on our part. Here are our tips to get rid of monsters.

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The Preschool years are a wonderful period of magical thinking. The developmental phase that comes at 3 and lasts sometimes to age six when school becomes a full-time pursuit and occupation, is a great period of superheroes and princesses. Firefighters, pirates and archeologists often filled my living room and yard when my kids were preschool age.

For a preschooler, anything is possible. Play is creative and often still structured by Mom and Dad. TV, movies, gadgets and computers begin to become more integrated in daily life. Skills are growing fast and independence from Mom and Dad is a goal kids sometimes don’t even know they are barreling towards.

[tweetthis]The preschool years are a wonderful time of magical thinking that can also lead to things like monsters in the closet.[/tweetthis]

But with magical thinking also comes the concept of monsters. And the monster hiding in the closet. You might ask yourself: How do I get rid of monsters more than once during this time. This requires creativity and a whole lot of thinking like a kid.

So how do you manage the monster in the closet? Or the Boogie Man in the bathroom? You know your child best, but there are several tools we have used over the years to set our daughter’s fears at ease and help us all get a good night’s sleep.

[tweetthis]There are several tools we used over the years to get rid of monsters.[/tweetthis]
how_do_I_get_rid_of_monsters

How do I Get Rid of Monsters?

1: Monster Spray:

Fill up a spray bottle with water and use it nightly to banish the mythical monsters. Make it a fun routine. Be creative. The potion can have a bit of lavender in the water or a calming aromatherapy essence or oil to help create a soothing atmosphere.

[tweetthis]Monster Spray is one way to help banish monsters from the closet.[/tweetthis]

2. Movie Magic:

The great thing about this age group is the ability to start communicating and listening. Even now, when my daughter, 9, has a scary idea in her head before bed time, or sees a frightening character on TV, my husband talks about what’s real and what’s not. A trip we took to Orlando when my daughter was 4 helped her to see movie magic for real at Universal Studios. We often talk about movie magic when she still asks: Is the shark on the package for JAWS real? “It’s movie magic,” is an explanation she likes and understands. “Is Harry Potter real?” Movie magic.
[tweetthis]Have a conversation about movie magic and it might resonate with preschoolers afraid of monsters.[/tweetthis]

3. Find a Guardian Stuffie:

Ainsley has the biggest Pablo from Backyardigans still in her room. She got that one Christmas from Santa and he is a massive pillow stuffie that was once the same size as her. One night when she was really struggling, I gave him the power to kick monsters out of the room. Some nights I would talk to Pablo and tell him keep her safe overnight. Pablo has magical powers and he chases bad dreams and monsters away. In fact, Pablo gets rid of monsters.
[tweetthis]Guardian stuffy? How does that work to banish monsters?[/tweetthis]

4. Create a quiet space that’s calming:

Close the closet, remove anything that makes a shadow on the walls, that might be interpreted as a monster. No TV or Youtube after dinner, and no scary books or fairytales. At our house the conversation and after dinner activity is toned down so the kids can easily transition to sleep. Monsters are a lot less likely to show up when my daughter is reading calmly. You might not even need to ask How do I get rid on monsters on nights when they are thoroughly exhausted from swimming lessons, diving lessons, or martial arts.

[tweetthis]A calm quiet space after dinner is necessary for sleep to be smooth.[/tweetthis]

5: Monsters Inc.

Monsters Inc., has a great little message in both of the movies and some adorable toys too. I asked my daughter, 12, what helped her and, without prompting she said – the scene in Monsters Inc. where the orange monster has to get decontaminated because he got touched by a human sock. “Monsters would be more scared of you than we are of them – if they existed,” she said.
[tweetthis]What my daughter said when I asked her what had helped her banish monsters in the closet.[/tweetthis]
So, there you have it: playing with Monsters Inc. toys and talking about monsters being afraid of humans, or chatting about movie magic are all tools that you can use if you have to banish the monsters from your home.
how_do_I_get_rid_of_monsters

How to Be a Monster Tamer?

This preschool stage can be so much fun. It was honestly one of my favourites in some ways. The creative play is so adorable at this developmental stage. Sometimes you need to get creative on the same kind of level.
What is your trick for getting rid of monsters? 

Mom of two beautiful active girls, traveller, fitness junkie, social media consultant, and keeper of the sanity.

16 Comments

  • Just Us Girls

    I love this! I thought my kiddos were the only ones that calls their stuff animals, stuffies, awesome!

    I’m definitely loving that Monster Spray, that’s such a good idea and will be sharing that with my sister since my three year old niece is afraid of the dark and closet, thanks!

  • Jennifer Van Huss

    Did you ever see the made for TV movie where a good witch moves into a small town and befriends children who live with there widowed father? I can’t remember the name of the movie, but a little girl is having bad dreams and goes to the witch for help. The witch casts a fake spell on her and tells her that spell will only work if she makes sure she doesn’t think about cute little bunnies before bed. The little girl spend some much time trying not to think about cute bunnies that she dreams all night about them! lol Its a great diversion trick!

    • Paula Schuck

      Jennifer: that is brilliant! When I was a kid if I was scared I would tell myself think of the flintstones. It would have worked better if mom had said whatever you do don’t think of the flintstones.

  • Insane Mamacita

    Perfect ideas. Especially the monster spray for little ones who just don’t understand quite yet.

    And of course we love Monsters Inc! Cannot wait to see the new movie!

    • Paula Schuck

      Three is a very busy age, isn’t it? My kids needed a lot of monster spray at three. Four was one if my favourite years ever though. Dd was very talkative and sweet then. Lived the conversations she was suddenly capable of having at four.

    • Paula Schuck

      You got it! I have relatives who repeatedly say there’s no such thing as monsters I don’t know why you are afraid. But really I never found that worked for my kids. Creativity is always welcomed here!

  • mamawee

    My oldest started talking about monsters when he was 2.5; at first I was nervous that he was going to have a rough time falling asleep etc – however, it turns out the monsters were his imaginary friends! At 6, he still talks about them every now and then. My boys are both huge fans of the monsters inc characters!

  • Whitney Hardesty

    Check out monster-defense.com. We have a wonderful-smelling spray available now & a fun, illustrated children’s story coming out in Dec 2013-Jan 2014 that tells the story of a little boy with a monster in his room, and how he overcame his fear of monsters. In researching online prior to writing the book, we read many articles from child & adolescent psychologists and parents about recommended methods for dealing with fear of monsters, and interpreted this into a fun, rhyming story which gives parents direction on how to help & gives kids the tools necessary to overcome their fear.