Katherine has been moving into the Monsters Under the Bed phase. It’s not clear to me whether this is an expression of something else (not wanting to be separate from Mom & Dad at night) or a real (imaginary) fear.
“Mo’er’s! Under the bed! Eat my toys. Eat my ba-ba. Eat my dee-dee.”
If you ask her any questions about there being monsters, she answers yes. Yes, there are monsters under the bed. Yes, there are monsters in the closet. We go and look and say “Boo!” (the One, True Way to Banish Monsters). She accepts that, but immediately there are monsters elsewhere.
We close the closet door, and she points to a hole in it (where the handle goes) as a place monsters can seep through.
Both the Cthulhu plush and a toy White Tiger have been appointed guardians of the bedroom, to shout “Boo!” at any monsters that might invade while she sleeps. She kisses them goodnight.
She and I had a long talk about monsters last night, which Margies says Katherine recalls with a giggle this morning.
I’m sure it’s just a phase, but it’s still something to worry about.
On a possibly related note, I have my first Kid’s Show Kitten’s Not Allowed to Watch nominee. It’s the L’il Loony Tunes, or whatever it’s called, with the baby Bugs, the baby Daffy, etc. Stupid idea, badly animated, badly voiced. But the real reason for the blacklist was the episode we inadvertently tuned to (okay, that came up on the TV at the top of the hour and I was too lazy to change), wherein the L’il Loony Tunes, all in their diapers, discussed why the bathroom and toilet were so Terrifying. Each had their own Terrifying Interpretation of the Horrible Stuff That Would Happen if you went in there, complete with renditions (animated on-screen, natch) of toilets that turned into ferociously snapping jaws, swirling waters that turned into whirlpools to suck you away, and dark holes that issue forth evil djinni to imprison you in the magazine stand.
All modestly humorous. For adults. Not for the frickin’ two years olds who might be in their target demographic. I was already fumbling for the remote as Katherine informed me that it was “scary.”
It doesn’t seem to have put her off her modest attempts at toilet training, but, jeez …
The frickin’ Rugrats fall into that category as well. Stupid episode in which one of the misshapen little spawn had a daydream that he would be sucked down the drain of the bathtub. Took a year to get Kier over that. I despise that show.
Hmmm. Managed to miss that one. I actually find the show amusing — but, yeah, it’s not toddler-fodder.
Re: Rugrat’s episode.
Oh, there was another one, too. (This was when I used to actually watch tv. :p) One where one of the OTHER spawns (I love that expression) was going through toliet training, the other spawns used the porta-toilet as a hat (?!) and the main spawn had a nightmare about being sucked down the toilet and taken to a friggin guillotine-ish contraption and flushed down a toilet (*watches logic and sanity jump through a window*). Charming, huh? Stupid show..
Monster B-Gone Spray. A liberal dousing of EVERY inch of the room is guaranteed to banish monsters of all forms from the room for a week. Have her help with the application process. That way she knows it’s all been covered.
(Recipe: LARGE spray bottle – kind of like the little tanks for bug spray, water – fill to rim, imagination, and if you’re truly brave, one capful of bubble mix.)
Hmmmm. Cool idea.
Upon being informed of the monster hiding in my room my dad assumed a very serious expression and told me to go wait in the other bedroom down the hall. I sat there listening in awe as a series of thumps and muffled swearing sounds made it’s way from the location of the monster (under my bed) to the bathroom, and was then followed by the sound of the toilet flushing. My dad, brow a-sweat and clothes ruffled, then told me I could come out because it was all safe and the monster was flushed away down the toilet and couldn’t come back. My hero. Worked like a charm.
Claire, that’s an awesome daddy!
Cool. Getting all sorts of ideas here …
Damn, I want to hire myself as a Monster Exterminator now… =)
Oh, and Dave, she kisses Cthulhu to keep her safe from the monsters? Priceless!
The Monster-spray thing works. I usually make a “witch’s brew” on the stove of good-smelling herbs from the garden and bottle it with all the appropriate magick words shouted by the wand-wielding child. Great for keeping their room and closet beastie-free, and for amusing a kid for twenty minutes.
As for the plush Cthulhu… They make those? I want one!!!
Do a Google search on “plush cthulhu.” Lots of examples (and there’s a mini-plush, too).
Got her doing the Power Word: BOO! trick this evening, finally, so perhaps we’re getting past that phase.
I have to link to this post……it’s precious!
My daughter went through a stage when she was about 5 or 6 where she was having nightmares about monsters, night after night. Inspiration struck one day, and I brought home a “magic” bunny, purple with sparkly stuff all over. I explained the bunny’s magic powers, mainly keeping away bad dreams as long as she held it while she slept. Luckily, the few bad dreams she had afterwards could be blamed on the fact she had rolled over & dropped the bunny. After a week or so, no more monster dreams!
Funny, she’s 22 now, and still has her magic bunny, though he’s a little worn and threadbare. She claims she doesn’t sleep with him anymore… LOL
Sorry, just remembered another one… flashlights scare monsters away too, since they are afraid of light. Just make sure it’s small enough for her to turn on & off by herself, and buy rechargeable batteries.
Hmmm. She’s been unwilling to have the overhead light off (when she goes to sleep), so I don’t know how she’ll feel about a flashlight. We’ll see.