When I was little I developed a terrible fear of the dark; I don't remember not being scared of the dark or what triggered it off, I just remember that I was and that I dreaded night time.
There were things hiding under my bed, ready to grab my foot if I dared dangle it over the edge. We did a school project about Tutankhamun which, of course, included the legend of the Curse of Tutankhamun and how death would befall those who disturbed his burial place. Well, after THAT, Tutankhamun was going to come and get me!
Learning about it all made me just as complicit in disturbing him as Howard Carter and Lord Canarvon were - Lord Canarvon 'mysteriously' died four months and one week after the tomb was opened; although Howard Cater didn't, but he did find his canary dead, in the mouth of a cobra, in its cage!
Thinking back over all that, now, is funny; it wasn't at the time, I can tell you! I remember being in tears and making my poor mother open every drawer and cupboard in my room to prove to me there was nothing there, along with knocking on the walls at the back of my wardrobes just in case there was a false wall and Tutankhamun was hiding behind it.
I'm telling you about all this to illustrate the point that fear of the dark, and what may hiding in it, is rarely rational especially when you're little, so a solution doesn't always have to be rational either - like Monster Spray!
Make it with your child, discuss their fears with them in the rational time of daylight and get them involved in the 'fight'; see if it doesn't help ease things a little.
Here's what you'll need:
- A jar with a lid
- Water
- Ultra fine glitter (like THIS)
- A clear spray bottle
Put some water in the jar and add a little bit of glitter - you could use different colours for different fears: red for monsters, green for strange noises that could be baddies coming to get you, and I'd have chosen blue for Tutankhamun!
Shake it all up then put it into the spray bottle to spray in the room, to protect against the monsters, before bedtime.
You could take it a sensory step further and add a few drops of an aromatherapy oil that your child likes the smell of too - if you can smell your Monster Spray as well as see it, then it HAS to be working!
If you've got a child who's scared of the dark, try this - I hope it helps and do let us know how you get on.
GOOD LUCK!
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