Fear: How to Beat Night Time Anxiety in Children

By: Charlene Nelson

Once it is getting darker, the shadows in your room appear to take lives of their own. Your four year old imagination hears and sees scary things. You doubt if the knocking on your window in fact is a tree branch or a demon trying to get in. Unexpectedly, the green jacket on your desk begins to look like that phantom you saw on television that afternoon. And who is hiding underneath your bed all set to jump on you at the smallest move you make?

Here are a number of tips to expel all the demons in the imagination of your child and how to defeat night time anxiety in kids.

1. Look at what they watch. It is not easy to be a child as you are very imaginative and easily influenced. This is why it is not a proper idea to permit your kids to watch horror movies. Watching vampires and zombies will without doubt influence the imagination of your kids. Extremely young kids cannot separate fantasy from reality; for that reason, leave out the movies and cartoons with creepy creatures until your child is mature enough to do so. If they get to see a horror film, explain your kids at once that the demons in the film are not real and will not haunt them in their rooms at night.

2. Bedtime Routines. A further reason why kids have bad dreams or lie awake at night thinking of ghosts is because they are not in fact relaxed or sleepy. By setting certain bedtime rituals, you can help resolve this issue, to help your child slip on to the Land of Nod. Give him a glass of hot milk before bed. Tuck her in. Read a good bedtime story. All these will help your child relax and put away the imaginings for the morning.

3. Nighttime lights. Putting a nightlight in the child’s room is one thing that helps both parents and kids to overcome fear as the room will not be pitch dark once the main lights are turned off. Having a nightlight not only helps make the child feel more secure, but is moreover keeping the child from bumbling around in the dark when he or she needs to go to the loo in the mid of the night. Keep in mind however that you select a nightlight with a really soft light. Having too much light will not induce sleep and will keep your child wide awake.

We all encountered anxiety, mainly at night, during our infancy and now we have to help our own children through it. Remember to be patient and do not belittle their childish anxieties. Try to remember how frightening it all was for you – and be prepared to offer comfort and support to your children when they feel afraid. After all, the comforting hug of a parent is the best remedy against every night time anxiety.

Reprinted from: Communication Skills Articles.

You can find more information how to treat night time anxiety at www.antianxietyconsumerreport.com

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