My son turned 3 in April. He has been sleeping in his own room since he turned 1. He’s had no problems sleeping in his own room/bed & has mostly slept all night until this past week. He keeps giving us a hard time when it’s nap time/bedtime because he says he’s scared. We try to ask what he’s scared of, but he doesn’t really say. He has two-night lights, a light/sound machine and several stuffed animals, little cars & a book or two in his bed. His dad & I always read to him before we lay him down also. What can we do to make him not scared?
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Hi there! I had the same problem with my now 6yo when she was the same age. I filled a clear spray bottle with water, food colouring and glitter and labelled it ‘good dream spray’, the idea I got it from said to label it ‘monster spray’ but I told her monsters didn’t exist so did not want to contradict myself, these kids are smart 
at bed time I would let her spray her room with it and under the bed. It worked better than I expected… I hope it might help you!
He could have separation anxiety, if you’re not with his dad he might be afraid that he won’t see him which is perfectly normal in most children with separated parents. The best idea I can think of is to sit in his room with him until he falls asleep, that should help 
Help a mama out and respond anonymously on our forum. My son is scared to sleep in his room: Advice?
Bribery. Make a chart, get things from like the dollar store where he can earn prizes for sleeping in his room
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Lay down with him for awhile, . Can he tell you why he is afraid all of a sudden?
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My son did the same thing around 2.5, and he’s been sleeping in his own room since 6months old.
Turns out, he just wants to fall asleep with his door open now. I close his door once he’s fully asleep.
I never gave in to naptime with the door open though, so he got over being afraid of his room for naps
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If he is scared there is something, put a camera don’t ignore it, kids do see things
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I agree with Bae Wa Ke there’s is a reason he’s scared and you should put cameras.
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What is scaring him? Something has bothered him. Find out what.
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Put cameras i agree something is bothering this child…
A child would not be afraid for No reason there is difinitely a Reason something is Scaring him…
Do not ignore him…
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I always let mine come sleep with me if they ever got scared. I understand that’s not always an option. Either way definitely try to address the source of his fear tho. It could be something as simple as shadows that can be fixed with darker curtains or maybe he had a particularly frightening nightmare that he just can’t forget. Whatever the cause let him know you will face it together.
I always cave and let my son crawl into bed with me, but if you find out he’s afraid of ghosts or monsters or anything of that sort I’ve heard of mixing a “potion” together with him and putting it in a spray bottle and spraying it in his room before bed that will keep all the bad stuff away. Good luck mama! 
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My daughter is three and I just went thru this with her. Turns out she was scared of one of her stuffed animals because of how it looks in the dark. It took me a week to figure it out. Good luck
Kids may have reason to be scared, science has shown they can see stuff most adults can’t due to the fact their minds are so open and curious, whereas by the time we’re adults were told and convinced spirits/ghosts/etc do not exist and therefore our mind is not open to the idea of something beyond us. I know it sounds silly but I witnessed some weird things with kids between nieces/nephews and my own child. My son did this at our old home there was only one room he would not sleep in, I switched rooms and he would go to sleep fine. My fiancé and I ourselves always got weird feelings and experienced odd stuff involving said room such as when we first moved in we were outside and BOTH heard someone walk in slam front door and walk to said room and slam the door as well (the door of said room was different then the rest so made a different sound when slammed) and fiancé went in and there was absolutely nobody inside at all. Also would see shadows under the door during the day and check it out thinking maybe one of our pets somehow got locked in and nope. In our current home same thing son was fine in his room first few months randomly got scared. We have a video baby monitor now and I decided to just watch him for a few mins before running right to him to see what was going on as to if maybe he was having bad dreams or something he was screaming at the top of his lungs then I WATCH his tablet he picked up fly out of his hands and land in the middle of the floor and him not move to throw it, he laid back down covered up including his head and within minutes was asleep again but scared me and fiancé so bad we started letting him sleep in our room. Also current home was fiancé’s parents home when him and siblings were kids and him and siblings have experienced other stuff such as one holiday after moving out they and their cousins were visiting grandma next door and came inside just kids being kids wanting away from parents and they all seen a hand coming through a piece of plastic hanging over the door of the addition.
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I had sleep paralysis from a very young age, out of nowhere. My parents got me the tiniest night light but past that “help” I got in trouble for it. They didn’t stop and actually ask questions. Now as an adult I know it was sleep paralysis and needed treatment, but I’m still afraid of the dark 
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Idk where y’all sit with God but maybe try saying a prayer with him every night. And then say one of your own
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Get an old spray bottle wash out let them decorate “Happy spray” “monster spray” ect pour in water and spray before they get comfy it may help
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My daughter did this, and come to find out, it’s because my oldest kept telling her there were monsters in the room.
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Help a mama out and respond anonymously on our forum. My son is scared to sleep in his room: Advice?
Make a spray bottle with spray for whatever he’s scared of…
Example we made monster spray and she sprayed it every night before bed…
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make “monster spray” or “alien spray” “zombie spray” whatever he is scared of. mix lavender essential oil (calming) with water to dilute it. let him spray it in the areas that make him scared and tell him it gets rid of said fear. they don’t like the spray so they stay away. he will feel like hes taking care of his own fears. worked for my 7 year old.
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Help a mama out and respond anonymously on our forum. My son is scared to sleep in his room: Advice?
He could have separation anxiety, if you’re not with his dad he might be afraid that he won’t see him which is perfectly normal in most children with separated parents. The best idea I can think of is to sit in his room with him until he falls asleep, that should help
Help a mama out and respond anonymously on our forum. My son is scared to sleep in his room: Advice?
Most kids go through this at that age. Their little minds are absorbing so many things and they have dreams about them. The dreams seem to be a jumble of all the things from their day. Be patient it does not last long. Routines are a big thing…bath…story time…cuddle…it will stop soon
Co-sleeping with your kid till they are ready to sleep in their own. Enjoy the moment that you still can.
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My girl went threw this and it last a few months, we just kept putting her back to bed reminding her she is safe and sometimes we’d lay with her till she fell asleep ect.
My kids went through this, solution was to let them fall asleep in our bed ALONE and then move them but the lights had to be off completely. Only hallway lights.
It’s absolutely normal to have a sleep regression at that age! Just needs reassurance.
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Has he watched something on TV that might have scared him? A toy hanging in his room that might be the culprit? A closet that might scare him? I have had 4 children, all grown now. How about using a room spray, to spray away monsters or ghosts?
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My granddaughter did that. I took her to the dollar store and bought her a purple flashlight and a can of monster spray, (Glade with a pine bough on the can). I took her in her room and showed her to look under her bed with the flashlight, if she sees a monster, spray it with the spray and it will disappear. Never had another problem. And her room smelled great.
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Play some music soft. Before he goes too bed look in the closet an pretend too kill a monster. Then tell him all the bad is gone! They have children’s bible stories, that would be great for him. Be Blessed
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I saw a post where she had a little boy who was scared a monster might get him so she created No Monster spray water in a bottle and he sprayed it In his room and slowly it worked
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This happened to my daughter at that age. We bought a dream catcher and put it on her headboard, of course we talked it up a bit about how magical it was. Then dad and I went to the “special store only for parents” to buy the magical dream spray ( febreze at the time in a fancy spray bottle). We sprayed this every night before bed.
I know it sounds crazy but if you talk it up enough it does work, at least it did for us.
Good luck.
Children experience at that age night terrors. They can last for a couple of years unfortunately
Is your house haunted? Maybe he’s seeing or feeling things.
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This happened when my youngest daughter…would not sleep…was scared…try to spend a night i n the rooom…ot could be something as simpe as a shadow from a toy or piece of furniture…our a problem was a tree near her window that made shadows…a room darkner shade solved the problem!!
Went through this for a long time with my kiddo
Told them stories about monsters in closets and under beds that are there to keep the ‘real’ monsters away and to protect littles
Branched off of the book ‘I need my Monster,’
Only downside now is that I have to come up with new stories for ‘Gregor’ every day for bed time about what he did while he waited for her to go to bed and how his family is doing 
My son’s still doing this and his almost 4 
I’m thinking it must have to do with there imagination/ dreams changing for them
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Give him a spray bottle of water 
…, it makes a game out of it for him … before bed he gets to spray his room away of all SCARY THINGS …
… it really works … good 
luck
Tell him you can’t help him unless he tells you what he’s scared of. Simple as that. Once you have that info you can proceed with a plan. So figure it out. Next question.
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Possibly shadows or sounds in the room while he’s sleeping? Or maybe he’s having nightmares he’s associating with his room? Or maybe having some separation anxiety?
FWIW though my child is 2.5 and will sometimes say something is ‘scary’ when she means she just doesn’t like it or is bored by it. He might mean something slightly different than actually being scared, maybe he just doesn’t want to go to bed.
They say to change the room around look up bed positions for kids
My son slept with me for FOUR YEARS. this is what I did and now he sleeps by himself every night no problem!
Get a spray jar. Get some fun glitter. Fill it with the water and said glitter. I even put lavender oil in ours to make it smell good…have the kiddo help, make it fun! It’s called “monster spray”. Every night I tell him we have to spray the doors, the windows, the closet, under his bed…and he goes and sprays it. Emphasis that the monster spray will keep the monsters away and they’ll feel like they did a big part of it 
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Get him a new stuffed animal. My daughter did this and her dad gave her “Ride free Fred”. It was some claw machine win that he had packed away in the closet. We went in her room and sprayed air freshener (monster repellant guaranteed to work for one month) and set Ride Free Fred on her bed and told her whenever she is scared, all she has to do is hug him real tight and he will take all her fear and give her his bravery. We also ensured her that if Fred didn’t work, she could come to us. She rarely left her bed at night after that. If that doesn’t work, try rearranging the room. Shadows could be the problem also. That happened with our oldest. We moved her bed to a different wall and she was fine after that.
My son when through the exact same thing at that same age after alot of sleepiness nights we found out if anything was poking out the top of draws or the wardrobe he thought it was a ghost 
I bought and clear spray bottle. Labeled it monster scare be gone. Filled it with water. Told them when they got scared to spray it and everything would be ok. After a week they stopped using it.
It is possible all of the lights etc are over stimulating him when he is trying to sleep and making his mind wander/ imagine things.
My son is 2 and he is currently going through this sort of phase. Inkust try to keep consistent with his routine and Reassure him.
It shall pass
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He may be getting to the age where he’s not needing a nap anymore, my son quit around 3 and a half, if he’s getting too much sleep he’s not gonna be as tired come time to lay down, which means his little brain is on go still, non stop working and he’s looking around and his working too much brain is overthinking and imagining.
My daughter is almost 5 and she wont sleep in her room she says she is scared she will only sleep on the couch then wake up and crawls in bed with me and her dad
Stay with him until he is sound asleep!!! If he wakes in the night, take him back to bed and stay with him again until he is asleep. Worked for me!!!
Empower him…give him something or tell him something that will make him feel strong enough to deal with it…does he like super heroes or a certain cartoon use it…tell him u understand but u know he can be brave and such and such will help
My now 4 year old son goes/went thru the same. He told me there were monsters. So, I bought a small spray bottle, filled it with water. Added a couple of drops of green food coloring (just enough to give it some color). Every night he asks me to spray “monster spray” a little in his room. So far it has been working. No more “issues”.
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Put him in bed and pray for him. Let him know that God loves him and guards him while he is sleeping. Pray God’s protection on him. Don’t spazz out when he says he is scared. I will pray for him. God bless you and your family. God pour His blessings of love and protection on all of your family.
Let him sleep with you. He will feel secure enough to sleep in his own bed. These years are precious. Believe me he won’t be sleeping with you when he is 16
Wen I was that age, I used to hide under the covers terrified and dripping sweat almost every nite you eventually grow out of it obviously. More night lights mabey
My son just got through this, we figured it was more because he didn’t want to go to bed and wanted to stay up and less because he was actually scared.
Because he never had an answer when we asked why, and whenever we acknowledged it… he would try to come back to the living room and watch TV
A dream catcher! I’ve got my son one above his bed I tell him it takes all his bad dreams away so he only has good ones x
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My husband took an empty aerosol can and wrapped it in paper and wrote “Monster Spray” on it. Every night he would “spray” our daughter’s room for monsters. Worked like a charm.
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Read some Bible story’s to him…
Say a prayer for protection…
And stay there untill he falls asleep…but remember if he gets up U better make sure Ur there right on time!! I will say a prayer for Ur son!!
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Finding out why is quite important but, A variation of the “monster spray” could work here, put some scented stuff in a mist bottle label it “safe spray” and have him spray all over his room and bed before yall start his routine, works for most! Hope yall find the cause 
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There are several children’s books out that deal with being scared to sleep alone or going to bed. It might help to read this together and then talk about his fears. Good luck!
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I think it’s a normal phase. Their imagination is developing and they haven’t learned to deal with the feelings.
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My baby had this issue around the same age and is barely getting through it. What helped was looking at his room at night and seeing what could possibly be casting eerie shadows. For our son he has a bookcase that had puzzle pieces and it was making weird shadows. We also walked through his room in the daytime and told him he has mom and dad to always protect him and my mom brought over blessed olive oil to bless the home and his room. Idk. I hope that helps.
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Think about it hes with people all day then it’s time to sleep and hes alone. Hes only little. My oldest went through it not so much the younger one. I finally gave up let him sleep with us he finally went back to his room.
When my son was having this issue, we bought him a beautiful dream catcher. We told him the story that came along with it and hung it on the wall beside the bed. It worked great! Now he does the same thing with his own children.
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My son went through this around the same age, for 2 whole months. He was telling me he was scared but not why, turns out there was a new toy in the room he didn’t like 
. I brought a wall sticker with his name on and some writing and told him it protects him at night and if he gets scared he should look at the picture. Worked a treat! Good luck hun xx
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I always leave a shirt that smells like me in my boys bed. That way when he’s sleeping he can “smell” me and it gives him a sense of comfort. Also try putting pictures of you guys in his nightstand or the wall. Try a dreamcatcher too. Tell him the stories behind it.
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Spend sometime reading a bible story till he’s asleep let him know God’s protect all his children put his toys away in a corner so it won tumble and scare him leave a testment or bible with him let him know u keep checking on him every now an again hope this help
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Our 5 year old slept in his bed fine until last year… now he prefers to sleep on the couch… maybe it’s because he’s closer to our bedroom idk but he has a whole room… and his sister is across the hall
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Have you tried “Monster Spray”
Get a spray bottle and half fill it with water, then add a few drops of Lavender Oil, shake it up. Just before going to bed make up a little chant or song or anything really to help the Child to relax, then spray the “Monster Spray” around. Even put a bit of lavender oil on the underside of the pillow.
The spray doesn’t need to be called Monster Spray, just whatever you think will help
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One day someone suggested we play Christian worship music in our sons room. The fear ended just like that after a worship “party” in his room.
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Show him smudging and ringing a bell in his room and explain it gets rid of the bad energy rosemary and lavender as a smudge will relax and seeing a big fuss with smell and sound should help
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This happens, I slept on my grandparents bed until I was 7-8? I’d wake up in my bed around midnight and be scared I was alone in the dark and run to there room and keep sleeping. It happens
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I told the kids the monsters are afraid of me so they won’t come in my house.
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He may also have learnt this is an effective method of avoiding something he doesn’t want. I hope you get to the bottom of this soon
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What has changed recently? Do you both work? Does he go to daycare? Had a bad experience there, during nap time? Had a bad dream? Changed his room around, new furnishings? Just questions to ask.another child bullying him if goes to sitter or daycare?
Y do he need a nap at 3?? He might sleep better at night with out a nap… His now out in the world with school just need a little love n reinsurance about his new day ahead xx
Stick around for a while n give stories n also try to know things he is afraid of …act as if you are beating whatever frightening him,and with time he will get courage…that age is still tender
I would have a priest come bless your home. I know you may think it’s extreme but I personally have had spiritual encounters as a young child and they didn’t stop until my mother had a priest come and pray over the whole house. Be blessed dear and ill pray for your little one 
Just a month before my son turning 3 years old he started showing fears for things like for example his own bedroom or places with the lights off in the night. I think it has to do with the age. Maybe is just a thing of becoming older and being more aware of their surroundings.
My husband used to go in every night and kick the monsters out. It worked for us.
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Super normal stuff can last until age 8 or 9. This is when kids imagination takes control of that brain. It can be anywhere from afraid of monsters, to much more mundane things. Remember they don’t know much about the world. So something you don’t find frightening, or something that actually isn’t scary, is to a kiddo who knows nothing about it. The fear of the unknown. My oldest had a fear of the dogs somehow escaping at night and her losing them forever. The dogs never escaped or even left our bedroom at night. She didn’t know that and it was scary to her. She had nightmares over it. She didn’t tell me that was the problem for awhile. Just comfort your kiddo and eventually, when they are ready, they will tell you and you can address it.
I sat on the floor near sons bed till hed fall asleep… a few weeks later at his door. Then out in the hallway. Eventually it stopped.
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Try teaching your children about faith in Jesus and He protects us all our lives.
It might be worth checking if the two night lights are throwing shadows in shapes that scare him. Sometimes it can be something as simple as lighting issues.
this is normal … at this age … their imagination starts to act up … they realize dangers in the world … shadows become scary … leave a light on in the room … spray some monster spray in to corners and under the bed and closet … look around the room with him to check for things. Worse comes to worse … lay on the floor until he falls asleep and sneak out.
Id cut out the knap times and exhaust him in the day, good meal bath (not shower) lavender and camomile in the water, a warm milk and book, bed time.calming Classical music, pan pipe music, or natural world, noises such as a crashing waves from the shore line. All suggestions just some, i tried and tested on my kids once they were smaller. Good luck
Sleep on the floor next to his bed. Show him there is nothing to be afraid of in his bedroom. Also, a dog could sleep with him, his best friend.
I was scared to sleep in my room til I was about 8-9 years old. I cannot explain what it was. It was nothing major. I was just afraid of being in the dark I think. When I finally did start sleeping in my room it was like nothing was ever wrong. I think kids grow out of this but no way to know exactly when.
Try a sleep mask…they make all kinds for kids. If monster spray works…then a sleep masks can make you invisible…so nothing can get you or scare you if you can’t be seen. Worth a try!
My adult daughter told me she was always afraid that the huge stuffed purple bear stored under her bed would come out from under it and eat her. I was horriedfied to realize such a simple convenient storge solution caused great fear in her as a child. Had I known this then, I would have gotten rid of it.
Kids perspectives including imaginery ones DO change at different stages in life. Try removing stuffed animals and or dolls from room. Leave a night light of some kind open. Leave their bedroom door ajar to start with to see if this solution will help ease their imaginary fears. If not investigate any source that makes them feel insercure.
Try putting some good gosple music in his room. Turn it down low. Eloise’s Washington.
Get an empty spraybottel, put water in there, put a sticker on there, write on it, monsterspray. Before he is going to sleep, spray together the scarry away.
Or just put him in your bed, and sleep together 
Fear at that age is hard to use reason to combat. I put water in a spray bottle and called it “monster spray.” At bedtime, I sprayed under the bed, in the closet, behind and around furniture and said nothing could get past this spray. I explained that it stays where you put it and protection builds up. I also used a night light. The monster spray was very effective and ended this problem for us.
Mine does this as well. Shes jealous that me and daddy sleep in the same bed and she has to sleep alone. I still havent found a solution. Daddy sits with her after book time until she falls asleep. It’s getting exhausting and wastes our nighttime. Its definitely hard, wish I had advice.
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Put a ticking clock in his pillow and tell him it s a magic clock and it keep all the bad things away as long as he here the ticking nothing bad can get in his room
Try a sticker chart everytime he sleeps in his bed and gets so many stickers give a prize