Quick Tip: Baby’s Point of View


This room seems innocuous enough, right?  Well, this weekend my daughter experimented with crib-vaulting which resulted in head-bruising, so we (reluctantly) decided that it was time to convert the crib to a toddler bed.  She’s always had a bit of a tough time going to sleep, and just recently learned the word “scary”, which she’s been using despite the nightlight and reassurances from mom and dad.  Honestly, I thought this was just another bedtime stall tactic, but when the crib wall came down and I could get into her toddler bed I got a different point of view. I finally saw what she was scared of…it even scared me!
Find out what it was after the jump

This pig that I thought was so cute displayed on her bookshelf:

Became a scary fire demon reigning terror upon her nights!  I wish I could photograph how it appeared back-lit by the night light…it scared ME!  Once I removed it, sleep was imminent.

So just a thought, give the room a look from your child’s point of view (and in the dark) and you might be surprised what you find!  I remember being terrified of a photograph of myself hanging in the hallway outside my room.  I thought it was staring at me and for years slept with one eye open, hoping to protect me from myself.  Have any of you experienced something similar?

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11 Comments

elisa

My mom used to hang my coat on my doorknob. When in my dark room, it looked like a witch standing at my door… just so I couldn't get out. I used to have to cover my head with the covers and listen very carefully to make sure she wasn't walking towards my bed. It was a terrible feeling. I'm so glad you discovered the real problem!

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Jacinda

When I was little, I hated the creepy little dolls in my dollhouse. I would hide them under the dirty clothes in my hamper every night and take them out in the morning. I was also afraid of the ominous shapes the clothes made hanging on a coat rack in my room. I just got a chill thinking about it.
Clare is creeped out by the little green light on the smoke detectors. She says… "it's looking at me"

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Kristin

There was a tree outside my window that would cast a shadow that looked like man standing outside my window. Right around the same time, there was a kidnapper on the loose in my town. Finally, one night, my mom saw the shadow too and called my dad to go check for someone outside. The tree got cut down.
You are right that it's important to try and see things from a child's point of view.

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Amanda

My son who is now 4, was able to tell me what he was afraid of around age 3. He kept telling me there were ants in his bed. So, one night I finally looked around the room in the dark like he was and saw that the cars & trucks on his crib sheets DID look like bugs. Poor guy. I also realized that night that his night light was making huge shadows on the walls. Creepy. In the middle of the night, we changed his sheet to a plain one and turned off the night light. We haven't had 1 problem since. Seemingly innocent things…..

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Julie

My four year old used to cover up her baby dolls with a blanket – I have to admit, I'd be creeped out with them sleeping next to my bed, too.

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alicia

growing up, i had a painting hanging near my bed of what i guess was raggedy ann/andy done by a friend of my mothers. she apparently has won awards for her paintings, so i guess shes good. however, that painting is one of the reasons that to this day, i'm scared of clowns.

(i had to remove my original post because i can't spell) đŸ™‚

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jesse

my parents had an antique pitchfork in our living room and a stuffed shark in our basement. neither of those things helped me in any way…. also, my view out of my bedroom (which i could see perfectly from my bed) was a loooong hallway with a big stairwell at the end. i remember thinking Freddy Krueger was gonna walk up those stairs at any minute.

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afwife

My father made the mistake of letting me stay up one night an i watched an episode of X-Files with him that featured a demonic doll. I had two dolls in my room, a china doll in a box and an American Girl doll on a stand, both on a shelf overlooking my bed. I slept with my head under the covers for 2 and a half years after that. Not to mention the 3 inch long wolf spider I found crawling on my leg one night…

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Meg Ring

My Sister and I shared a room when we were kids and she also had my Mom remove our Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls because they reminded her of Chucky! Eeek!

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j8783b

My daughter is doing that too. She goes to sleep for naps just fine, but at night insists she's scared even with the night light on.
I had 4 older brothers. They had me terrified of my stuffed animals and baby dolls. On night I rounded them all up, stuffed them into a yellow and pink polka dotted drawstring bag, and tied it to the leg of our dining room table.

My mom was so confused and decidedly NOT stoked to find that in the morning.

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