It Came in The Middle of the Night

No, this isn’t an article on dealing with your kid’s wet dreams. Today we will be discussing how to deal with the following situation: Last night, at 4:00 AM, my 4 year old daughter climbed down from her bed, turned off her night light, walked out of her room, walked into our room, and began screaming at the top of her lungs.

At first I wasn’t sure whether she was sleepwalking (she has a history) or whether this was a legit monster scare. It turned out it was legit—she was upset that her room was too dark and was terrified about sleeping by herself. After some coaxing and some reinforcements (AKA my wife) we were able to get her to settle down and she fell back asleep.

Kids getting freaked out in the middle of night is perfectly normal and should be expected to happen every once in a while. But if you don’t handle it correctly, it can turn into a full blown monster house every time you turn off the lights. Next thing you know, that small flashlight graduates into a flood lamp and you are rubbing suntan lotion on your kid every night before bed.

Here are a few tips to keep your kids calm and scare-free in the middle of the night:

No Headless Horsemen. Only Caspers
Kids get scared by scary things. You’ve been there. Being an intelligent kid, you probably dismissed the Bloody Mary mirror story as been hogwash. But if you were like me, you still didn’t try it to prove it wrong. So help out your cause by not telling them scary stories or reading scary books. All ghosts should be the “friendly” variety. And horror flicks should be off limits.

Give into Demands. Within Reason
When your kid gets the heebeejeebees, ask them what they need to feel better. When it is in the middle of the night, it is very tempting to give them whatever they want. But use caution! Only give in to simple demands, and ones that don’t screw you in the long run. So get them that glass of water. Or give them another light up toy. Last night was the first time I was thankful we spent $18 on the spinning Disney princess light from Princesses on Ice. It provided enough light and distraction to lull my princess back to sleep.

Stand by Your Convictions and Stand by Your Kid
The only thing my daughter wanted to do when she woke up was to climb into bed with my wife and I. And who can blame her? I am a very cuddly spooner. But the last thing we wanted to do was establish a co-sleeping habit. We did not even entertain the thought. It is very important to remember what your rules are: even when it is at the butt-crack of dawn. Last night we were able to escape without too much manipulation or concessions. But had we not, a good compromise would have been for me to stay in her room until she fell back asleep.

Talk About It
A very important step in the recuperation process is to talk about the previous night’s episode with your kid the next morning. You should ask them if they remember waking up the night before. You should also talk about why they were scared and show them, in the daylight, how there isn’t anything under that bed or in the closet.

But Don’t Dwell On It
You should see if your kid remembers the episode the next day but don’t dwell on the episode. Most likely, your kid won’t let it affect them the next night. But if you keep on reminding them how un-scary their room is, they just might revert back to cryville.

Follow these steps and you just may luck out with a single episode in the middle of the night. Good luck noodads.