Scared of the dark

ByEmma

N’s a funny one.  He loves the moon and stars, so I never thought he’d be scared of the dark.

He’s quite happy when he wakes early in the morning to wander from his room and in to see me…all in the dark.  It’s not like we have street lights to walk from the farm to our house across the drive, so it’s pretty pitch black sometimes.  He’ll walk holding our hands and chatting away with no problem.

But after I pick him up from nursery, he’s started walking from the car to door (and from nursery to the car) with his hand over his eyes.

I was puzzled, and asked a few times what he was doing.  No answer.

But then last night I asked specifically if he was scared in the dark.

‘Yes’.

Awwww.

I’m still not sure why he’s covering his eyes when it’s already dark?  But toddlers do think and do strange things sometimes.  Maybe I need to read him The Owl That Was Afraid of the Dark again.

How do you stop your children being scared of the dark?

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10 Comments

  1. My son is 8 and hates the dark, also won’t go upstairs on his own (even when it’s daytime). I’m hoping it’s just one of those things he’ll grow out of. Until then the landing light gets left on at night time.

    1. Gosh, let’s hope so. I’m too lazy to keep having to go upstairs with him, but I’m hoping come summer when it’s lighter, maybe he’ll grow out of it.

      We have a downstairs hall light, so there’s enough to see what he’s doing if he comes out of his room. It’s mostly outside which we see the amusing hands over the eyes when it’s dark.

  2. Grace is still scared of the dark at specific points in the day. She won’t go upstairs on her own at night but will get up in the middle of the night – in the dark – to go to the loo! Bless him, I love how he covers his eyes because it’s dark! Thank you for linking to PoCoLo x

    1. Sounds about right. Children are sent to try us, and keep us on our toes. I’m hoping it’s a phase and it won’t continue, but it does mean I get to hold his hand more which is nice.

  3. Emma, I think it’s just a phase. Which he will learn to use to his advantage, in good time 🙂 Emma is still afraid of going to bed on her own but if she really wants something from upstairs she would go and get it, even in the dark 🙂
    Linking in from #PoCoLo

  4. Oh bless him. My daughter does not like the dark at all, even now aged 7. My son seemed ok until last night when he suddenly started crying and we couldn’t work it out at all, until he said he didn’t like the dark-looks like 2 night lights now 🙂

    1. He has his groclock nightlight but has never complained about his room so that’s good. They change so quickly with no notice though, it’s hard to keep up.

    1. He does have a nightlight on his gro-clock. Bizarrely it seems to be outside, rather than inside that’s the problem (at least he sleeps inside!).

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