'My 5-Year-Old Does This 1 Thing Before Bed And It's Banished Bedtime Meltdowns'
A parent has revealed how her child’s bedtime turned from monster meltdowns to fast and calm with the addition of an extra nighttime ritual.
The mum took to Reddit to explain her youngest child, who is five, would have “massive pre-sleep meltdowns about monsters, school worries, or whatever her busy little mind latched onto”.
So, she and her husband instigated a “worry wash” before bed.
Sorry, what?
The parent explained her daughter draws her worries on water-soluble paper, takes them to the bathroom sink, says goodbye, and simply watches them dissolve under running tap water.
While it might sound a tad laborious, the parent said the “transformation has been brilliant”.
“Bedtimes have gone from 45-minute tearful ordeals to 15-minute snuggles and stories. She’s sleeping through more consistently too,” she added.
It turns out she isn’t the only parent getting creative to help their children sleep soundly – especially as so many of them have fears of monsters coming to visit in the night.
Here are some other nighttime rituals parents swear by...
One parent (ThexGreatxBeyondx) revealed that when their son was four, he became scared that there were monsters in his bedroom, and assuring him there weren’t any monsters didn’t work.
“I went rummaging in the basement until I found my very blunt wall hanger replica of Sting, Bilbo Baggins’ sword from The Lord of the Rings and its display plaque,” they said.
“I showed it to my son and explained that this was a magic sword that glowed blue when monsters were around, and because it could give them away, monsters were scared of it. I hung it up, well out of reach, and told him that if the sword glowed blue to come get me and I’d kill all the monsters.
“It worked. He’s almost 9 now and Sting is still in the same place on his wall.”
Another said they managed to convince their kids that monsters were terrified of them. “I would fight the monsters and kick them out the window,” said nerdinmakeup.
Another parent said they deployed their dog as a monster hunter: “She hunts and destroys monsters for sport. We put the word out that this house is under the protection of a board certified monster dog and they haven’t even tried to show up since.”
And if that doesn’t work, make like andwhenwefall who grabbed a wooden chopstick and made up a bottle mixed with essential oils.
“These became my toddler’s magic wand and monster repellent spray,” they said. “He would take 5-10 minutes to spray his spray and cast his spells and all was good.”
Genius.