Parents, please help!!!

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peej76
peej76 Posts: 1,250 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
It all started last Thursday, my 6 year old Tyson was with my brother in law, who decided it was cool to watch a horror movie with my kid around. By the time Tyson got home that afternoon he was petrified. Since then, Tyson will not let us leave the room without us, will not use the washroom or go into any of the other rooms by himself, or even sleep in his own bed at night. He did sleep in his bed on Monday night but then last night he was scared again, I almost had him convinced that it was alright, but then Cash, my 6 month old was downstairs crying for his pablum and I stupidly said "c'mon Ty, I have to get back down to Cash before he wakes the dead" Well, that started it all over again. So I need help!! How do I help him overcome his fears. I need my sleep and me and hubby need some "alone" time:wink: I will try ANYTHING!!!
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  • peej76
    peej76 Posts: 1,250 Member
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    It all started last Thursday, my 6 year old Tyson was with my brother in law, who decided it was cool to watch a horror movie with my kid around. By the time Tyson got home that afternoon he was petrified. Since then, Tyson will not let us leave the room without us, will not use the washroom or go into any of the other rooms by himself, or even sleep in his own bed at night. He did sleep in his bed on Monday night but then last night he was scared again, I almost had him convinced that it was alright, but then Cash, my 6 month old was downstairs crying for his pablum and I stupidly said "c'mon Ty, I have to get back down to Cash before he wakes the dead" Well, that started it all over again. So I need help!! How do I help him overcome his fears. I need my sleep and me and hubby need some "alone" time:wink: I will try ANYTHING!!!
  • Shannon023
    Shannon023 Posts: 14,529 Member
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    It all started last Thursday, my 6 year old Tyson was with my brother in law, who decided it was cool to watch a horror movie with my kid around. By the time Tyson got home that afternoon he was petrified. Since then, Tyson will not let us leave the room without us, will not use the washroom or go into any of the other rooms by himself, or even sleep in his own bed at night. He did sleep in his bed on Monday night but then last night he was scared again, I almost had him convinced that it was alright, but then Cash, my 6 month old was downstairs crying for his pablum and I stupidly said "c'mon Ty, I have to get back down to Cash before he wakes the dead" Well, that started it all over again. So I need help!! How do I help him overcome his fears. I need my sleep and me and hubby need some "alone" time:wink: I will try ANYTHING!!!

    Maybe if you can show him how horror movies are made & how fake they are will help him get over his fears.

    Good luck! :flowerforyou:
  • kimber607
    kimber607 Posts: 7,128 Member
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    Oh boy....been through that and nothing really helped
    BUT I've heard what helped other kids is MONSTER spray...
    Make him feel like he is in control (since telling him monsters don't exist won't work, because he is scared!)
    Get an empty plastic bottle and fill it with water....have him sleep with a nigh-light or lamp on
    Spray the monster spray around the house and before he goes to bed at night and leave it in his room when he sleeps

    Good luck...hope this passes QUICKLY!
    Kim
  • klikittyklak
    klikittyklak Posts: 144
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    When we were young my parents gave us "monster spray" which was just water in a spritz can like you use for ironing. That way we could take charge ourselves and spray away anything that scared us! :laugh:
  • klikittyklak
    klikittyklak Posts: 144
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    Oh boy....been through that and nothing really helped
    BUT I've heard what helped other kids is MONSTER spray...
    Kim

    LOL, I didn't see this before I posted--we must have done it at the same time!!
  • jackeh
    jackeh Posts: 1,515 Member
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    Oh boy....been through that and nothing really helped
    BUT I've heard what helped other kids is MONSTER spray...
    Make him feel like he is in control (since telling him monsters don't exist won't work, because he is scared!)
    Get an empty plastic bottle and fill it with water....have him sleep with a nigh-light or lamp on
    Spray the monster spray around the house and before he goes to bed at night and leave it in his room when he sleeps

    Good luck...hope this passes QUICKLY!
    Kim


    with my daughter we did the monster spray and said a little poem with it...

    Monsters monsters go away,
    monsters dont like monster spray!!!

    and in the spritzer bottle i filled it up with water and a bit of perfume.... so when she sprayed it she could smell it and i told her if you can smell it it means its working lol

    good luck

    jackie
  • ali106
    ali106 Posts: 3,754 Member
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    awww poor guy! I was the same way as a kid! omg my cousin told me a scary story she made up about people living in the walls in my grandmother's house and they were little and would come out when no one was around....lets just say....I NEVER WANTED TO GO THERE....sigh...even as an adult when I visit my aunt and am alone in that big house...I feel weirded out! lol....

    big hugs, I think time, maybe a night light too will help....I like the idea of monster spray and explaining how the movies are made....still I bet its gonna be hard...poor guy, poor momma! gosh darn horror movies!!! (and cousins who make up stupid stories:grumble: ) :ohwell:

    hugs!
    ali
  • peej76
    peej76 Posts: 1,250 Member
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    We've had the monster movies are fake talk, but never showed him how they were actually made, so I'll try that. I already blow him "sweet dream dust" at night but I will sure try the monster spray thing too!!
    He gets so worked up, that he starts crying and hyperventillating, he did it just now because I was busy in the kitchen and I asked him to go clean his toys before lunch. Grrr, I'm losing my patience with him fast. I know what it's like to be scared and I know he can't just snap his fingers to make it all better, but, man I hope these ideas work!!!!
  • peej76
    peej76 Posts: 1,250 Member
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    awww poor guy! I was the same way as a kid! omg my cousin told me a scary story she made up about people living in the walls in my grandmother's house and they were little and would come out when no one was around....lets just say....I NEVER WANTED TO GO THERE....sigh...even as an adult when I visit my aunt and am alone in that big house...I feel weirded out! lol....

    big hugs, I think time, maybe a night light too will help....I like the idea of monster spray and explaining how the movies are made....still I bet its gonna be hard...poor guy, poor momma! gosh darn horror movies!!! (and cousins who make up stupid stories:grumble: ) :ohwell:

    hugs!
    ali
    Awwww, my cousin locked me in the bathroom once with some kinda little red light and she told me it was the devil's spirit. I had a fear of thier bathroom for a long time lol.
  • FitJoani
    FitJoani Posts: 2,173 Member
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    Oh boy....been through that and nothing really helped
    BUT I've heard what helped other kids is MONSTER spray...
    Make him feel like he is in control (since telling him monsters don't exist won't work, because he is scared!)
    Get an empty plastic bottle and fill it with water....have him sleep with a nigh-light or lamp on
    Spray the monster spray around the house and before he goes to bed at night and leave it in his room when he sleeps

    Good luck...hope this passes QUICKLY!
    Kim


    with my daughter we did the monster spray and said a little poem with it...

    Monsters monsters go away,
    monsters dont like monster spray!!!

    and in the spritzer bottle i filled it up with water and a bit of perfume.... so when she sprayed it she could smell it and i told her if you can smell it it means its working lol

    good luck

    jackie
    now I really like this idea!!!! But there has got to be a way to explain to him that there is pretend? Like saying on Halloween, you dress up and PRETEND to be scary, thats all it is...I am not a parent yet but I think this may work????
  • twin2
    twin2 Posts: 404
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    I wish I knew about monster spray when mine were young, my oldest was terrified of his toys at night because he watched "Toy Story". :laugh:
  • jackeh
    jackeh Posts: 1,515 Member
    Options
    Oh boy....been through that and nothing really helped
    BUT I've heard what helped other kids is MONSTER spray...
    Make him feel like he is in control (since telling him monsters don't exist won't work, because he is scared!)
    Get an empty plastic bottle and fill it with water....have him sleep with a nigh-light or lamp on
    Spray the monster spray around the house and before he goes to bed at night and leave it in his room when he sleeps

    Good luck...hope this passes QUICKLY!
    Kim


    with my daughter we did the monster spray and said a little poem with it...

    Monsters monsters go away,
    monsters dont like monster spray!!!

    and in the spritzer bottle i filled it up with water and a bit of perfume.... so when she sprayed it she could smell it and i told her if you can smell it it means its working lol

    good luck

    jackie
    now I really like this idea!!!! But there has got to be a way to explain to him that there is pretend? Like saying on Halloween, you dress up and PRETEND to be scary, thats all it is...I am not a parent yet but I think this may work????


    Its so hard to explain real and imagination to little ones... they just dont get it. Monster spray worked the best.... it was the funniest thing to watch ... she was convinced she was doing a wonderful thing to help all of mankind ... and my house smelt nice!!! :bigsmile:
  • AugustBaby1973
    AugustBaby1973 Posts: 144
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    Poor thing! I have always told my kids that monsters and ghouls are fake, so they really don't react badly. But, if it helps, my nephew was terrified of monsters, and even worse....Chuck E Cheese---the big rat that represents pizza!!---what's that all about!:ohwell:

    Anyhoo...show him a video of the Sesame Street monsters, and explain to Ty that they are just make believe characters. Some are just meaner and scarier than others! Hope that helps!:flowerforyou:
  • PedalHound
    PedalHound Posts: 1,625 Member
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    So, this is just something I read, but I recall hearing that although it can be a quick fix for a moment, monster spray is actually a bad idea when you're trying to help children not be afraid since it reinforces the idea that they're real. The same research suggested (in a case exactly like this) to watch "making-of" segments just like some have suggested here.

    A babysitter did this to me when I was 3.5 (the movie House 2) and I still can't listen to the Michael Jackson song 'Man in the Mirror'. What an awful thing for your child to have gone through and I can't even IMAGINE the strong words I'd have with my BIL for pulling a stunt like that. As someone who had a similar experience as a child, and respecting that everyone is different (hopefully your little guy will bounce right back!), I have to admit that a couple of my life-long really deep fears are quite directly related to having seen that movie. Children's minds are just not ready to handle that stuff!!! And sadly, these days the scary movies are that much worse. Psychologists didn't used to be regular staff members to help make them scarier! I think you should let him sleep in your bed if that's what he needs. Maybe you and your husband can take turns on alternate nights sleeping in a guest room or pull out couch? I know you guys want your sleep and your alone time but I think that if you honour what Ty needs he'll recover faster than if he's pushed to try to manage something that he should NOT have to manage.

    :flowerforyou:
  • Phoenix_Rising
    Phoenix_Rising Posts: 11,417 Member
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    What scary movie was it? Depending on the movie, there might be alternative routes to take that haven't been mentioned.... What "monster" in particular is he scared of?
  • peej76
    peej76 Posts: 1,250 Member
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    What scary movie was it? Depending on the movie, there might be alternative routes to take that haven't been mentioned.... What "monster" in particular is he scared of?
    Apparently it wasn't actually a horror movie, but a spoof. Something about zombies, but regardless if Tyson was scared by it it was still a scary movie. (my bil uses this excuse in his defence) I'm going to find out for sure the title of the movie so that I can watch it, just to see if it will give me a better idea on how to handle this. So zombies are what scare him right now, but he has a friend who has convinced him that she has a vampire who visits her every night and he has glowing eyes and he chases her through the neighbourhood at night when everyone is sleeping, and it screams her name etc....

    Pedalhound, believe me I have told him I don't appreciate him watching these kinds of movies around Tyson, especially since Tyson did asked him to turn it off, I'd like to say more but I'm afraid if I start I won't be able to stop.....he is that kind of guy lol!! We'll let him sleep in our beds because number one I totally believe in the song "let them be little" by Billy Dean and number two, his fear is real and I know how hard it is to be brave. Last night I stayed in his room for an hour talking to him about his favourite movies and why they make him happy, it was a quick fix and nothing else. Patience is key!
  • LML79
    LML79 Posts: 697
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    Time to give your brother in law a good swift kick LOL!
  • peej76
    peej76 Posts: 1,250 Member
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    Yay!! Tyson slept in his own bed last night!! He came down about five times pretending to be thirsty or for a bathroom break but he made it through the night. I am so proud of him. I didn't have to use the monster spray yet but that's my back up plan for sure lol!!
  • Phoenix_Rising
    Phoenix_Rising Posts: 11,417 Member
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    Yay for him sleeping through the night in his own bed!!

    Zombies... hmm. I'll think on that and see if I can come up with any help to rationalize the situation (kid-friendly rationalizations, at that).
  • Mireille
    Mireille Posts: 5,134 Member
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    Yay!!

    I'm glad he slept last night.

    I remember when I was in grade 6, I watched "nightmare on elmstreet" and I wasn't able to sleep alone for like 6 weeks. I slept on the floor in my brothers room (he really didn't want me there lol).

    It took me a long time to adjust. I still can't watch scary movies but I'm also a big chicken.

    I'm glad you son is feeling more confident.

    All the best!

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