Few children are not afraid of the dark. Children do not recognize the environment, they listen to the sounds, or they cannot find their favorite toy… Parents have often thought, “If I could find somebody to tell me how to help my baby, I would be very happy!” because it is hard to understand what is in a baby’s mind. Fear of darkness is a real anxiety. Children find it difficult to fall asleep, or they wake up in the middle of the night crying and they cannot fall asleep again. Useful information can help any unhappy mother!

When this fear exists, it is useless to let the child cry. Go to comfort him / her. You can gently caress his / her hair and if he or she has not woken up, most probably he / she has had a nightmare, so let him / her sleep. If this is not the case, switch the light on and help the kid fall asleep again. If the child tells you about “somebody” behind the curtain, you must persuade him /her that nobody will be there ever. A child must not believe in ghosts, monsters, or other evil creatures. Moreover, it is a good thing for the child to learn or to be taught how to speak to God, in order to feel protected.

However, in order to overcome this fear a good solution is a lamp. If the child is still afraid, you can sleep in the same room, or let other member of the family sleep there. Then, gradually, you can help him/her how to be a winner in the fight with the dark. First, the kid must learn how to get used to sleeping alone, in a dark room. Therefore, you should avoid offering the baby a pacifier because if he or she loses it in the dark, this is a serious reason to hate it and to start crying. A good idea can be instead, to let the baby sleep on a cushion having your perfume.

Besides, you can do some research and find out stories or in which heroes have been helped by the dark. If you do not have time to search for information, you can use your imagination and tell him/her for example that creatures of the dark are ridiculous and weak, because they are always defeated by creatures of the light and you can even set up a little story.

Next, you can invite the kid to visit the house at night and identify the sounds that used to scare him/her. You can as well mention that you as well had your childhood fears (not of the dark, because it will strengthen his/her fear), but of snakes or spiders for example, and any information of this kind can make the child feel stronger.

If the child has had other fears and he or she has overcome them, remind it to him/her. In addition, you have to respect bedtime and to be careful at tiredness signs. When the child yawns and rubs his/her eyes, that means that he / she will fall fast asleep.

Of course, you have to understand that this problem will not be solved overnight and you need patience and you need much information about children’s psychology, but if you are decided to help your child, you are on the right track.