How can I get my 11 year old to feel safe in his room?

Question

All of a sudden my 11 year old does not feel safe in his room and insist on sleeping downstairs on the couch. He slept in his room up until 3 weeks ago.

Answer 1

It's not about making him go back to his room. You need to speak with him and find out what happened 3 weeks ago. Something changed - and until you deal with that, you can't resolve the (less important) issue of where he sleeps.

Good luck.

Answer 2

I actual have by no ability known of a 11 12 months previous boy being that scared nor,have I known any mothers and dads enable their newborn decide for that long dozing interior the room with a grown up. in spite of the undeniable fact that, i'd desire to work out having a night mare and getting scared and going interior the room to sleep yet, this is the only reason i'm able to think of of

Answer 3

You need to get to the root of the problem. Find out what scared him so bad three weeks ago that he doesn't feel safe enough to sleep in his own room. Try getting him a night light or something until he feels safe again. You could also try camping out on the floor with him in his room for the first couple of nights. Do what you have to do to get him back in his room.

Answer 4

I would talk to him and find out exactly what is wrong. Did something recently happen which would make him feel unsafe? Did he witness something scary or watch something scary on TV? Maybe one of his friends told him something scary? Talk to him and find out. If he honestly doesn't know, I would try going to counseling. When I was little, I had this fear all the time, of my room, of going to sleep, of the dark, etc. It wasn't until I grew up that I realized it was not a fear of those things, but a general fear and feeling of being unsafe.

Now I'm 35, and I still have that sense of needing to be safe and secure in my surroundings. But I can see that when I was little, I just generalized it and had this "fear" of "something under the bed". That was the only way my young mind could rationalize it.

If there is not something specific your 11 year old is afraid of, you need to help him be able to discuss his fears in general, and learn to feel more safe and confident in his world.

Does that make sense?

Answer 5

Something happened, first find out why he doesn't feel safe in his room and then go from there. He might just need a night light or to watch Monster's, Inc., who knows, but first you have to identify the problem. God Bless.

Answer 6

hmmm, has something happened to disturb him? Has a friend at school scared him of has there been a big change in his life? if so, he my be feeling upset and unsettled, he could be wanting attention.

or, does he have a tv in his room? if not, there might be a programme he has heard of that he wants to watch but doesnt want you to know he is watching...

i hope this has helped.

Answer 7

you need to find out why he doesn't want to sleep there any more. Sometime my 11 does that and its because of sounds he hears. We put a fan in his room to keep the air moving and also give him "white noise", Please add more details thank you

Answer 8

You need to get all of the monsters out of the closests and out from under his bed. Call ghostbusters if you have to. The kid can't sleep with you all the time.

Answer 9

Duh...did you ask him? He might not want to tell you, but try and get an answer from him in an easy..calm manner. Something happened. You need to find out what.