Magic Monster Spray

  I recently had a conversation with a mom whose young son was having nightmares.   I don't know if every kid goes through it, but I remember when Matt did.  He was afraid to go to sleep, and he would sometimes wake up in tears.  At the time, I was lucky to have a circle of friends who allowed me to agonize over every issue.  One of the mom's remembered hearing of an easy solution, and I couldn't wait to try it.  I put some water in a spray bottle and called it Magic Monster Spray.  I told him that this spray would keep away monsters, and any bad dreams. We would spray his room before we read our bedtime story, and then again just before lights out.  Because it was only water, we could spray walls,  furniture and fabrics without damage.  The most obvious place was under the bed.  We sprayed  behind the curtains in case they tried to come in the windows. We sprayed in the closet because it is always dark and a really good hiding place,  We always sprayed the toy chest to give special powers to Matt's favorite toys and stuffed animals to help keep them away.  We sprayed the pillow to keep scary thoughts away.  All that mattered was getting him to relax and get ready to sleep, and it worked!  If he woke up from a dream, we did it all again.  I really don't remember how long it took, but it's magical to work with your kid, and to solve a problem together.   It seemed unlikely that in a few short years he would beg us to watch scary movies.  The Goonies was one of our favorite movies, and we watched it many times.  It's always on this time of year, and I recommend it.  It's about a bunch of ten year olds who ride their bikes in search of a pirate treasure.  There are some scary scenes so watch it first and make sure it's appropriate for your family.  I'm sharing this now because Halloween can bring back nightmares for some kids.
   I'm not an expert, but I hope this helps give some ideas for a very common issue.  Take what you like and leave the rest....and the beat goes on.....the beat goes on......