“There’s a monster in my closet!” Most parents have heard this statement. In fact, most parents have said this statement at one time or another themselves. The fact is, childhood fears existed when you were a kid and they still exist now.
Last night, my son was very upset because a toy of his had “mysteriously” disappeared. Forget the fact that he obviously misplaced it; this event sent his imagination into overdrive. A few hours later, when he was getting ready for bed, I walked past his bedroom in time to see him running out of the room at warp speed. He tripped over his light saber and fell flat on his face.
He started crying, and told me he was scared to be in his room alone when the closet door was open. How could I not feel that sadness, when I, too, used to be scared of closets at night? But then he went further. I told him that there were no monsters in his room and that he had nothing to be afraid of. He surprised me by answering back, “Oh yeah, well what about the ghost robbers?”
“Huh?” I said. I was admittedly stumped. I’d heard of monsters. I’d heard of the boogeyman…but ghost robbers? That one was new.
He explained to me that he felt certain we had ghost robbers. After all, how else could his toy have possibly disappeared?
I resisted the urge to laugh. I hugged him and again reassured him that there were no monsters of any kind in his bedroom.
Children will always fear something. Whether it is the dark, spiders, or the anticipation of monsters under the bed, their fears will only subside when maturity takes over and new fears of a deeper level begin.
As a parent, the best thing you can do is to not trivialize their worries. Validate their concerns and reassure them that they are safe and loved. And remember to record incidents like these in a journal. These moments are priceless—you don’t want to forget them.