3 year old son is still afraid of the dark?

Question

He has a nightlight, and is sleeping in the bedroom next to ours. However, it's not working for him because just about every night he will come in to our room around 12 or 1 am and say he's lonely and scared. My other kids never had this phase, they were happy with night lights, but Rex is different and I just wish he would stop waking us up

Answer 1

Let him sleep with you in your room. If you're not comfortable with him in the bed with you, then place a toddler mattress on the floor next to your bed and let him sleep there. Also, you may want to revisit your nightly routine. What do you do to wind down/prepare him for bed? Does he watch any scary cartoons or other shows on tv? Is there someone who may have been telling him some scary stories? Young ones have VERY vivid imaginations. Make sure you aren't showing any signs of frustration or anger when he comes into your room at night b/c that might just be making things even worse.

If push comes to shove, just realize that he's ONLY THREE!!!!! Three year olds are supposed to be afraid of things & seek out their parents for love & protection. That's just one of many things that they do :)

Good luck!

Answer 2

my 4 year old son does the same thing around midnight again at 3 am ... All I can say is this is normal... My son has night terrors. Put a baby monitor in his room even though it is so close to you. WE sleep with night lights bathroom lights on and my room is next to his as well. listen to the monitor between 30 and 90 min after he falls asleep he should be awoken thew the night some times sleep walking and even talking tells me he is scared.. If this is the case no food and hour before bed no fluids an hour before bed. Wake him 90 min after he falls asleep and lay him back down... Also when he does get up direct him softly back to bed lay him down reasure him he is safe mommy is here and to have sweet dreams. \Also speak witht the child's Dr. they may be able to shine some light on the subject. Good luck my dear I wish you the best I really do.. If you wanna talk more add me or send me an e-mail

Answer 3

I am 17, nearly 18 and the dark still frightens me. So, don't say STILL when saying hes 3 and afraid of the dark. Try moving the nightlight closer to his head, and letting him sleep with a favourite toy. You could also try this: In the dark, ask him what he sees (he will probably say something like dark, black, or nothing), then have him close his eyes and ask what he sees again (you should get the same type of repsonse). Then explain that if he has his eyes closed he can't see, so there is nothing to be afraid of.
You could even try asking WHY he is afraid of the dark. Maybe a sibling told him about monsters?

Answer 4

Being afraid of the dark is one of the most common fears. I personally am not a big fan of being alone in a dark place. However, I have been a mom of 3 year olds before. I know that they often didn't come to my room at night because they were necessarily afraid of the dark. They were more than likely just bored and lonely and didn't know how to fall asleep on their own once they woke up.

My hubby and I just made a small "bed" next to ours using a couple of blankets on the floor and an extra pillow. Our children were allowed to come into our room if they needed but were not allowed to wake us up unless it was an emergency. They had to sleep in this extra "bed" on the floor. It worked. They occasionally slept there - sometimes we could tell a child had been there but had gone back to their own bed before we woke up in the morning. Soon, no one used the bed for quite awhile. It was just a comforting thing for them, knowing that they could be closer to us if they needed to be - but without waking us up.

Oh - and be wary of keeping doors open at night. If there should ever be a fire at night, a closed door will keep your child much safer than an open one.

Answer 5

sad to say but I'm 20 and I'm still afraid of the dark. i don't ever want to live alone, in fact i share a 3 bedroom apartment with my mom and boyfriend. i think it was all the scary movies as a kid and my dad always scaring my brother and i thinking it was funny. also my mom, being from the Philippines islands always told me there were ghosts in all the houses she grow up in. so I'm afraid of ghost and the dark. if my boyfriend has to work late i can't sleep and if i must sleep i sleep with lights on. i always had a dog and i make my dog sleep with me if i don't have anyone. if i stop watching scary movies im fine, but every now and then i'll see a preview on t.v or on a dvd and i'll be scared all over again. maybe you should find out what really scares him and try to eliminate it. like if hes scared of scary things on t.v get rid of those things. like no more scooby doo, or the cartoons with ghosts and creepy stuff. maybe get him some kind of stuff animal or toy and say this will protect you, like if the toy is a soldier. or get a small dog that will sleep with him. i hope this helps. i wouldn't want him to grow up like me, i feel dependent on others because im too afraid to be home alone. good luck.

Answer 6

My daughter is 3 and afraid of the dark too. It has been a pain to get her to get to sleep. But we have been making progress. When her and my other daughter are in bed with the lights off, I take out a flash light and we point it everywhere in the room to make sure it is safe and to see nothing is there. And then my boyfriend or I stay in the room and lie down on the floor next to her bed until she is asleep and each night we have been moving closer to the door, until we are out, we are almost there!. It has been working out great, she has been falling asleep very quickly.

Answer 7

My son is 4 and he is afraid to sleep without a light on. He sleeps with a night light right next to his bed. I also leave on the bathroom light. It doesn't bother me to leave the bathroom light on. Then I could see in the night when my younger child wakes up.

Answer 8

When I was little, instead of just leaving a nightlight, my parents left the hall light on and the door open.
Try this and see if it helps.

Answer 9

My Donld Duck light was great with the bulb, but GLOWED like some devil.
Mom didn't get it, and I was stuck with that damned lamp.
Check out all possible reasons, not just the obvious. Kids can't always tell you what they're feeling directly.

Answer 10

im going throught the same thing with my three year old. im in the process of decreasing the amount of light in his room. it started with him going to bed with his roo m light on, then after that worked for a week, i went to a desk lamp on his dresser, and after two weeks just a night light. it seems to be working very well!