littleBee1 is 4 years old. Her favorite TV shows for the past few months have been Max & Ruby, Curious George, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Olivia and Caillou. All innocent shows with lessons to be learned, and yes, as you can see I allow her to watch TV, even though it isn’t recommended for her age. Life happens and when you have 3 babies to look after, and even when you don’t, either way TV can really help you get things done around the house.
Recently she was introduced to Scooby Doo. I’m not sure how, or who introduced her to the show, but she was on a bit of a Scooby Doo kick for a few weeks before it happened…. Nightmares… Scary Dreams….Monsters! She woke up in the middle of the night, got out of bed and woke us up because she was scared. It was out of the blue, but the monsters even showed up in her drawings & paintings. Not that I could tell they were monsters, but she was sure to tell me that the big green blog was a monster.
I told her that monsters are make-believe/pretend, because that is what you’re supposed to say… right?
Well she still got out of bed, scared, for the next few nights. Finally I figured out the connection, and banned Scooby Doo, but the damage has already been done. If you’re not familiar with Scooby Doo, it’s a show about 4 adults and a dog (Scooby) that solve mysteries about ghosts, zombies, mummies and all things scary.
I had red or seen something about giving your child a flashlight, and when they get scared, they can shine the light around the room and see that there aren’t any monsters. After going through way too many batteries…. I purchased a manualflashlight, you know the kind that they have to squeeze a lever to get the flashlight to work. She doesn’t get out of bed every night now, but on occasion wonders into our room telling us she’s scared.
Scary dreams/Nightmare are such a difficult concept to explain to a child. You want to be able to say that they are make-believe, or just pretend, but I know that a 4 year old doesn’t understand. Being woke by a child and having to get out of bed to tuck them in and explain that monsters aren’t real isn’t an easy thing to do at 2:30 in the morning, and I can’t help but think about the triplets getting that age and having to wrangle 3 children all night. One wakes up at 11:30pm, then the next at 1:00am, and the 3rd at 4:00am. UGH!
What have you told your child/children about monsters? Are there any other shows to avoid? Please share your thoughts and ideas so we can help others get some sleep.
Sue
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