When my oldest son was little, he use to be scared to sleep in his room. He thought there were monsters under his bed, or in his closet. So one day I filled a spray bottle up with water and added a little vanilla, about 1 tsp. I wrote on the bottle "monster spray", I also added a picture on it of Cookie Monster with an X drawn over him. So every night we would spray under his bed and in the closet. I would leave the spray on his dresser in case he felt he needed it. It worked wonders!
By coville123
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What a good parent! Nuff Said. PBP
You are a smart cookie!
By using "Monster spray" you are confirming that monsters are real. Instead, help the child see what is causing the fear, a shadow, a scary movie they saw etc.
If you can reason with a child so they understand there are no monsters, perfect. If you can't, the spray (or whatever soothes them) isn't going to hurt & will give them some peace - what harm in that? Sometimes you absolutely can't convince a child that there are no monsters, that what they are seeing is just a shadow or something - especially if they've seen 'Monsters, Inc'! I could reason with my oldest & show her they weren't real. Her brother-no way, I had to go in his room & 'chase them away' before he'd go to sleep.
The younger 2 were a different matter entirely-they both watched the movie "Monsters, Inc" (at an 'appropriate age') & were so terrified & convinced there were monsters that were going to come out of their closet that we couldn't convince them otherwise, even the spray didn't work.
We finally had to put a lock on the OUTSIDE of their closet door to lock the monsters in & convince them that our cat, who slept in their room, was a "watch kitty" who would attack any monsters that came around!
We happened to be in Disney World the week my youngest turned 10. We walked around a corner & there stood Sully, the giant blue monster from the movie - my poor son was totally convinced his worst fears had come true-he was absolutely terrified, even when I gave Sully a big hug!
I really wish all these people that post "monster spray" as their own original creation would realize that the original idea for this was posted in an old copy of woman's day magazine or family circle magazine. I used this idea in the 1980's and millions of different combinations have been used. The original idea said to use a squirt of the mother's perfume in the room.
What a cute idea! Thanks for posting this. And although I raised children in the 80's I never heard of it. I wish people who post on these stories would realize that not everyone reads every magazine.
She never said it was her original idea what she said was "..one day I filled a spray bottle up with water and added a little vanilla...". I also raised kids in the 80's and had very little time to read magazines. I think it is a very cute idea.
Hello, I have 6 grown children and most of the time they had a "roommate" so usually it turned out okay and no monsters seem to bother them.
How could a spray (or whatever) to scare something away be any different than Santa Claus, the Easter bunny or the Tooth Fairy?
When a child is old enough they usually learn for themselves what is real and what is fun or fantasy. Parents can monitor their children and know when is the right time to "tell" them the "truth".
I worked and did all the things a mother has to do but I spent my "extra" time enjoying my children instead of reading magazines. So I am 79 years old and this is the first time that I have ever heard anything like this. I still do not read magazines (except in my doctor's office) but I know many who do and that is okay with me - just not my thing.
Sometimes loving parents have to weigh the difference between real and unreal when dealing with THEIR children.
How many children grow up with fears that never leave them?
Maybe a "fantasy" solution would have helped them grow up and find they really had nothing to fear?
I applaud you for caring enough about the well being of your children to try and find a solution.
I think it depends on the child. My now 20 year old was terrified of the "owls" he believed were in his room at age 2. I tried logic, I tried discussions (with a very articulate child, at that) and nothing worked. I tried "monster spray" that I heard of or read about - of course we changed it to Owl Spray.
It worked. It allowed all of us to get a good night's sleep, and in a few months, we discontinued it. He was the one who came up with a spray for his little sister's room several years later when she became frightened of clowns. They are both well adjusted kids, who know what is real and what is not. :-) Whatever works at the time... I believe in picking my battles!
I like your solution to the monsters. I have a grandson who thought there were monsters hiding in his room, and I came up with a fun game we played. We made everything in his room a monster. The pillow monster, the sheet monster, the light monster, etc. By the time we got through with everything, he would be laughing because of all the silliness of these things he knew were not monsters. It worked. But my 48 year old son has a monster that will not go away. Big foot. Sasquatch. I think they are going to prove it exists. Lol
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