Some where between my childhood and growing up I out grew my boogie man rituals. I have no idea when this occurred but it has now dawned on me as an adult, their gone. All the things I no longer do my children are following in my footsteps and are now doing. Every night my girls have to have their closet door completely shut, all drawers pushed in and the blinds turned a certain way or they refuse to sleep. In the evening before its even dark, it's a constant battle with the lights. They are constantly turning on every light through the house as they go back and forth. (If we added a runway and we could direct in airplanes, it's ridiculous!) So we fight turning them back off behind them. Once the sun starts going down all critters apparently come crawling out, and they can no longer function without light safety. They will also refuse to go anywhere alone. (I assume that's because traveling in pairs is safer!?) If one has to pee, they will hold it until someone can go with them even if that means they have to wet themselves. (To them it's a small price to pay to stay alive.) In the evening all whining begins with "She won't go with me..."! I know all kids get scared, and have bad dreams, which the basic boogie man spray takes care of (There's nothing Febreze can't handle!) , but these handed down behaviors seem abnormal. Maybe it's just a girl thing because my husband doesn't relate. ("She doesn't need you it's not even Dark! What are you going to do, go with her to the bathroom till she's 18?" ...I said that using a manly voice! ) On the other hand I completely sympathize. As a child I can remember flipping on the lights and running as fast as I could in shear terror, to get where I was going. Although looking back I don't have a clue what I was so scared off. So, as frustrating as it is I spend many evenings waiting for one at the bathroom or providing them with protection walking to their room. I guess at some point and time your protective boogie man shield develops and all fears subside. Therefore, until theirs kicks in I will continue to have a high electric bill and I will be Mommy to the rescue ...the defender of all evil, here to save the Night! (Coming soon... to a theatre near you!)
My boys are so afrid of the dark. They won't go up or downstairs alone at night. W. will need to go to the bathroom and he'll call his brother to go with him.
ReplyDeletelol. I was just like them when I was little, probably worse. I always slept with a dimmed light and the TV on at night. I had this closet that was kind of connected to the basement and I always thought that I could hear people coming up the stairs to get me! I hated being alone in the basement so much!
ReplyDeleteIDK when or how I grew out of it, but I just did!
I wonder sometimes why my girls don't have any fear of the dark or anything like that. Don't you think it has to be learned? Like from a show or something?
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I thought of you b/ this Nikolas saying goodbye to Emily thing right now is SO sad it's almost got me tearing up!
Cute picture with your posting! Before bedtime, Tristan asks me if I put the alarm on so no bad people can get in.
ReplyDeletethis is so true.
ReplyDeleteMy children will NOT go into the basement unless in teams. Even if the dog is the other teammate. Never alone!
My husband was a "turn out that light" weirdo. He still is. We used to get our kids "tap lights". You know, they run on batteries. ALOT of batteries. Now they use the light from their ipods as a nightlight. Its awesome when kids come into their own.
ReplyDeleteI think it goes in phases. At least in my house. My 6 year old is perfectly fine for a few months and then something sets her off and it's like pandemonium around our house at bed time.
ReplyDeleteGreat post!!!!
My daughter is even worse than I was. Part of that is my fault because I sleep with the TV on so she now thinks she has to.
ReplyDeleteI remember doing that. A lot of kids do that, I don't think it's necessarily abnormal. It's just a kid thing. Didn't you know the shadows are out to get you? It's just the imagination. Every once in a while I STILL get into a mood where I'll suddenly run and jump into my bed and pull the covers over my head, even though I know perfectly well all I'm "scared" of is my imagination. (which is quite active I must say)
ReplyDeleteMy son always wanted me to leave "The Hallaways light on" . I was afraid of the dark too when I was little and I had an older sister share a room with me.
ReplyDeleteLets face it the dark is scary!
I think that it's something that all kids go through. I was pretty afraid of the dark until I was about 9 or 10 years old. I still have some nighttime paranoia's, although, they're not really related to the boogie man.
ReplyDeleteNot just a girl thing, that's for sure. My 7 yo is afraid of the dark & it's funny (to me) when he asks his little sister to accompany him to the bathroom because he's scared. *chuckle* You'd have to know the layout of our house to really understand the ludicrosity (prolly not a word, but it fits) of him being afraid to even go to the landing to hang his coat or get his back pack from the foyer. Yikes! If I look over the half wall (from the living room), I could see him about 5 feet below on the landing...
ReplyDeleteI still have a fear of the dark...lex says sheepishly. Blame it on all the reality crime shows (watched long after Andy is in bed, mind you). Can't get enough of them, but real crime scares the bejeebers out of me (I Survived on Bio...eeeks!). Andy is the only one of my kids that is afraid of the dark, among other things. Sorry for the long comment - this one got me going. Heh! Thanks!
My kids still have a nightlight! When P is deployed we all do!
ReplyDeleteThis is the story of the ages ...
ReplyDeleteIn the early 1960s before Batman & Robin or any other major crime fighting heroes, we had no one to turn to as an inspiration to help us with our fears. My little sister who was six at the time was supposed go downstairs in to the basement to turn off the light she left on ... She turned to me (age eight) and said, "Carrie, you be brave like Popeye and go first, alright?"
Boy, can I relate! When I was growing up, our basement housed the devil, I was sure. The light switch was at the BOTTOM of the stairs (not very good planning, was it?) so you had to walk ALL THE WAY down in the dark, and ALL THE WAY back up after turning out the light.
ReplyDeleteAlso, my daughter was 15 before she would stay home alone in the dark, and still at almost 18, will not shower if she's in the house by herself!
Yikes!!!
It's nice to be needed sometimes!!
ReplyDeleteBeen there, done that. My childred and ex-husband all had a night lite. To make sure (they) didn't trip over anything. I on the other hand hate them. I have always been able to move through dark rooms without misshap, even if I haven't been there before. Its a "cat sense" I guess. We have one here in the hall only because we have stairs. I think most childred are scared of the dark, and some adults I know. The dark is a very scarey place.
ReplyDeleteThis one's my post of the day!
ReplyDeleteSo, so true. I still close my closet door faithfully. I used to jump for the bed because I was always sure something was under there waiting to grab me. And the toilet...*shudder* I'd flush & skidaddle as fast as I could to avoid the loud noise. NOw my kids like to travel in pairs too. My brother was 6 years older than me so I knew I was completely on my own. If I ever asked him for help he'd have added to my fears no doubt
I saw Poltergeist alone in the back bedroom when I was eight; up until then it was no big deal that my bed faced the closet. You heard of sleep-walking? I'd go sleep-screaming through the house every night until my parents rearranged my room. To this day, I still can't sleep in a bed facing the closet, door open or not. Thanks, Steven Spielberg.
ReplyDeleteSS
Can relate! My youngest swears she sees smoke if she goes to bed before it is completely dark outside ... something about the light that comes through her window.
ReplyDeleteAs for me, I can remember jumping ten feet into my bed for fear that something that lived under my bed would grab my ankles. (Shhh ... I still don't like to put my feet down in the middle of the night.)
Found you from Birdie.
I did the same thing when I was little. I think I slept with a nightlight until I was about 14. And stuffed animals. My bed was completely littered with them. I could barely move, but I felt safe.
ReplyDelete(Stuffed animals finally got the boot when I got married. My husband thought I was weird.)