After losing my mind last night, and needing to be talked down by a friend (Thanks, Jenn!) I've decided that just doing the bedtime snack is not enough. He needs more.
It seems like when he cries out at night, it's because he wants ME to go to bed (and his bedtime is 8:00, and I don't usually go to bed until after midnight...so there's NO way I'm letting him stay awake until midnight. He's such a bear after a long night. And there's no way I'm giving up MY nights because Cam says so....) He also seems to cry because he's afraid, but we aren't sure of WHAT! He says "monsters," but he KNOWS monsters aren't real.
Tonight's ALL new and improved plan:
We have a check list. On the list is things like: Go potty, read stories, hugs and kisses, prayers...as he does each item, we'll check it off.
Once he's in his room we got him a few "fun" things. I took him to the store today and let him pick out his OWN flashlight. He picked a little red "Cars" one. We then got a small boom box to play Primary CDs on.
When we got home, I told him that his flashlight has a "special" spot for safe-keeping, under his pillow. I also set up the CD player with his choice of Primary music next to his pillow.
We've discussed what will happen to either or both of these new things if he screams and yells, or if he sits at the top of the stairs and falls asleep there.
I'm hopeful. This sounds like it MAY work.
Update to come!
2 comments:
I just want to to know that I'm still afraid of the dark because of "monsters" and I'm 25. It's a very psychological thing and it's been there since I can remember. It's funny though, because the older I get, the worse my fear gets. I'm thinking about hypno therapy.
I tell you this not to make you more concerned, but to let you know that it's very common. I was similar to him growing up and had a hard time going to and staying in bed. He will eventually learn how to deal with it.
I'm glad you have a pro-active plan. And I really hope it works for Cam, and you.
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