My kids LOVE watching "Extreme Home Makeover." Recently there was an episode filmed in a haunted house in Maine. Usually the show doesn't "go there" so it never occurred to me to tell their big sister (my oldest) that they couldn't watch it when I went to book club. Shame on me for not previewing it.

Anyway, it scared the pants off my two youngest -- ages 6 and 8. Now my son keeps waking up (and his little sister) at 3 a.m. to inform me that he can't sleep because he sees and hears ghosts. I want to acknowledge what he's seeing and make him feel safe, but I also would like some sleep. This has been going on for weeks (2 to 3 wakings per week) and my husband is about to blow his top! Any advice?

Jen

oh goodness... so sorry to hear about your lil ones having troubles sleeping (and you too)

I don't really know what to suggest expcept to acknowlege that the show scared them and try to make them believe that what they are waking up to is bad dreams and not actual ghosts (if thats what they are believing)

Try and talk to them at dinner about it or something and then spend time slowing winding down each evening with a nice story or something and really try and push pleasent thoughts before bedtime I'm sure it'll blow over and in no time they'll have nicer dreams..

I dont tihnk that was very helpful.. hang in there I'm sure others will be along with more advice shortly

In the interest of you not losing sleep for the next 3 weeks as this thing blows over... you might consider taking the kids out to get a protective stone or crystal from a local store. Tell them that the ghosts don't want to hurt them (because ghosts are actually pretty nice!) but you will get them something to put under their pillow so if they feel scared at night they can hold it and it will keep the ghosts away from them. Then let them know the safest place for them to be at night is snug in their bed with their crystal.

Think of it kinda like a security blanket???

Blue Lace Agate is a common one picked for protection of children by those that believe in crystal healing and protection but really you could let your kids pick any stone that they like... just take them to one of those nature shops or new age shops (nature shop will be MUCH cheaper!) where they sell crystals and stones in lots of colors and shapes.

This idea might sound a bit weird but it actually comes from when I used to babysit a little girl who had terrible nightmares... I told her nightmares looked just like bubbles and if you looked *really* hard you could see your nightmare and pop it in your room, that way it wouldn't come back when you went to sleep again. It seemed to work actually... we spent about 2 minutes before she went to bed checking the room for nightmare bubbles and popping them and if she woke up at night she would try to pop her own nightmare before going to get a grownup. It cut down her getting up at night by about 80%.

Maybe if you give the kids something active they can do (holding a crystal, popping a bubble etc) they will be less likely to run to get you??? It's worth a shot anyways.

Another thing that would work just as well if you are religious is to give them each a cross or other religious symbol... just something to keep under their pillow.

hmmmm. when my oldest went through this we told her that only people that dont have dogs had monsters and ghosts because they are scared of dogs they wont come here! She is 7 and to this day she will tell people this lol

Looks like you got 2 really good ideas to work with Jen. The bible says Spirits will always roam the earth and I believe it because we have someone/something that opens our kitchen cabinet door while we are sitting near it in the den. It happens often. It opens and stays about 2 seconds and slams shut. We don't even try to figure it out.

When I was little, my Dad told me that only the GOOD spirits are allowed to come back and the only reason they do is to watch over the ones they love and make sure they stay as well as possible and keep them from geting boo boos. It worked. I slept very well knowing that nothing could harm me because I had secrets spirit watching over me. He said when I heard noises, it might be them giggling or going through our toys to make sure there was nothing sharp or rough in them that could hurt us.

He also told me that the dogs will bark to let the spirits know if anything unusual happens, so if I heard the dogs in the middle of the night, not to worry, the spirits would take care of it for us.

Here's the funny part. He said if we heard noises coming from Mom's nd Dad's room, do not come to see what it was, it was just the spirits tickling their noses with some of the bird feathers. They only did that to the adults. (wonder why my mother snickered so hard at that one???)

Best wishes...maybe you could use all 3 ideas.

THANKS! You guys are great! I am laughing at the feather tickling Mom and Dad's noses ... we'll have to try that one, too.

Jen

Have you tried Benadryl? Just kidding....

I think it will pass in time, or the stone/crystal idea would probably help...I know my son would accept the "protection" of an object...

We actually took a paper towel roll, capped both ends, with beans inside...let him decorate it, and he kept it next to his bed for a couple weeks. I never did hear him ever shake it (that was what you do, shake it to scare away whatever was bothering you), but the nighttime visits did stop

Good luck,
Brian

Yeah, I saw that episode, and I was really surprised they agreed to do it... I mean, no offense to the family, but it almost seemed like the family wasn't as needy as most of the others, and that the major hook was the ghosts...

Anyway, you could tell them they have guardian angels, that always comforted me when I was little. And Weeza's right about the spirits in the Bible... it still just kind of creeps me out to think of it though.

I sent you a PM! I too believe there are spirits as the Bible speaks of
and the Lord has Guardian Angels He speaks of. I Always prayed over
my children at night Gods word is like as to a "two egde sword!"

I have to admit that I didn't read through all of the responses, but I wanted to share what has worked with all 3 of my kids when they went through the ghost fear stage.

I personally believe in ghosts, and think that kids can see them, as they are innocent. However, at young ages, they definitely fear them. SO, what I did was get a spray bottle, lable it with "monster/ghost spray" and filled it with water when they weren't watching me. I advised them that it was a special spray to make the ghosts/monsters stay away, and each night before bed, we made a routine of spraying the closet, under the bed, anywhere else that the child felt that it needed to be sprayed.

This seemed to work well for me, and I had more in depth discussions with my son about ghosts and spirits when he was age-appropriate.

Good luck.

I like the special stone or crystal idea, and the spray bottle with monster/ghost repellent in it. Good luck,

I missed that particular show, darn it. I'd have liked to watch it. As I do believe in ghosts and spirits.

You might also tell your kids that ghosts really are friendly and they shouldn't be afraid of them, that they come to watch over them and protect them.