My 4 year old is afraid of dark?

Question

Sometimes when he wakes up at night,he runs to my room so fast and so hard that i wake up before he gets to me.He is only 7-8 feet away from me.I explained him abouth everything,how our doors are locked,nobody is in here,nobody can get into the house.He goes i know,but it's dark.There is a night light in his room and one in my room.Are all four year olds like this?

Answer 1

My kids all went through the same thing. I got some great advice from my mom that I think will help you. I bought an empty spray bottle and put in a mixture of water and a few drops of vinegar (or anything else with a little fragrance that won't harm your child or surroundings). Every night I sprayed their rooms with the "monster spray" and left the bottle on their nightstand while they slept. If they got scared in the middle of the night, they could spray the "monsters" away. It worked like a charm for me. Good luck!

Answer 2

This is very common. You are not alone. Even my six-year old son did that some of the times too.

Sometimes they got the fear from the movies or conversations he heard from others, talking about monsters etc.

Kids of this age lack of security, thus they got frightened easily.
Don't worry, it will tide over soon. No matter what, in the current small world of theirs, they still could not fully apprehend what you are trying to explain. Give him some time. Once he has grown older, he will slowly feel more secured. But still, try to prevent letting him watch those horror or violent shows.

Answer 3

are all 4 year olds like this . not all ,but probably alot . my 4 yr old is not . my 11 yr old was when he was little . sleeping with the lights on helped .
is he afraid of things that go bump in the night ? have you asked him why he is afraid ?
what we did for my oldest was took a can of air freshener , made our own lable that said ghost-b-gone [he was afraid of ghosts in his room ] we drew a ghost on the lable and put a red cross through it . on the back we wrote a HUGE list of things it gets ride of and does . it worked !
maybe he just dont like to be where he can see anything , or the lack of seeing things even with a night light . try to buy a colored light bulb like a blue one . we bought one for a party at the local walmart . tell him he can use this cool colored light , but only if he stays in his room all night . they had red , yellow , green and blue.
good luck

Answer 4

My ex-boyfriends 3 year old was terrified of the dark!! He had a night light as well, but never slept in his room the whole night through and always ended up on our bedroom floor!! We went out and bought him one of those animal flashlights that you can get at toy stores, you just squeeze the tail, and the mouth opens up and a light comes on and it really made him feel a lot more secure alone in his room. It didnt automatically stop him coming to our room but slowly he quit coming in.

Answer 5

my 4 yr old isnt like dat. its very individual. i'd say its difficult to make him stop being afraid, no matter what u do it wont help bcos the fear is deep within him. i know cos i was afraid of the dark as a kid. u shld leave the lights on. invest in those fancy colourful night lamps with nice friendly patterns & soft lullaby music. it really helps cos it stimulates the childs senses for better sleep too.! good luck! :>

Answer 6

My son will be 5 in October. He likes for me to leave the light on in the stairway until he falls asleep. If he wakes up, he come's straight for my room too. I don't know if all are like that, but mine is!

Answer 7

Most children of this age are not consistently afraid of the dark. They feel afraid only when there's been a disturbing situation just before that - say death or severe illness in their immediate circle.
If your son is consistently afraid, then he may need some counselling.

Answer 8

My neices and nephews were not like this. But they each had their own quirks. I would assume that this is a phase and maybe he will grow out of it soon. If it really worries you - ask his doctor for advice.

Answer 9

Of course it's normal!
I mean, I'm 21 and i'm afraid of the dark !!
Well, I'm not literally afraid of the dark, but i don't feel comfortable alone in the dark, you know?

Answer 10

My daughter isn't like that when she's 4. anyways, maybe he's going on a phase. let him sleep with lights on and then turn the lights off when he's sleeping. maybe.. that'll help