There's a monster

About three weeks ago, my 2.5 year old's normal bedtime delay tactics took on a more urgent tone. She became desperate to keep me in the room. Every time she was about to relax she would say she wasn't tired or that there was a monster.

Imagination is both a blessing and a curse. This is a typical stage toddlers go through when they start having a hard time distinguishing between reality and imagination. But that didn't make the bedtime struggles any easier.

We tried sitting with her.

We tried letting her cry.

We tried shooing away the monsters with her monster-fu fighting teddy bears or the fly swatter.

We tried monster hunts.

We tried sleeping in the same bed.

We read 'Monster at the end of this book'.

We made bedtime later.

We left her closet light on.

We left the door open.

We left her alone for increasing intervals and put her back to bed when she came out of her room.

Like so much of development, it was just a thing we had to get through. There are still monsters now and again - like at 4AM when she can't find her pacifier - but they are fewer and further between. 'There's a monster' is just her way of saying that she's scared and doesn't feel brave enough to be alone.

After three weeks of bedtime tears and begging for one more snuggle, we are finally back to the normal bedtime routine with a few extra steps. Time to enjoy the return of a little free time in the evening before the next sleep disturbance hits her or her younger brother.