Sleeping FAQ: 24+ Months – Other

My son of 3yrs 9mths has become frightened of the dark and wants a light on to sleep with. Should we allow this?

In the last few months my son has become scared of the dark ever since he saw a spider in his room. He now insists on sleeping with the light on although we have a dimmer switch and it is almost on the lowest setting. We sometimes are able to sneak in and turn the light off when we go to bed but on other occasions he wakes and cries out for us to turn the light back on.

I’d be grateful for some advice as to how to get him out of this problem particularly as we have a 9 month old who my son will be sharing with on holiday for a couple of weeks. Our baby sleeps in complete darkness.

Getting your son over his fear of the dark and fear of spiders may take a while. To help him understand that spiders are small harmless insects find some books about them to share with your son. One that he may enjoy is The Very Hungry Spider by Eric Carle. Reading this with him and perhaps finding some simple non fiction books about spiders, either in your local library or bookshop, could help him overcome his fear. Many small boys can become fascinated with insects, spiders and other small bugs.

To help him with his fear of the dark and your forthcoming holiday you could take him with you to buy him a Dusk to Dawn light which plugs into a wall socket. These can be found at nursery outlets and in most electrical stores. Check for the strength which should be no more than 15 watts. Use this light before you go away on holiday so he is used to it. You may find placing a chair or other object in front of it will take away most of the light but still leave a reassuring glow for your son if he wakes, which will not be strong enough to disturb his sibling. By choosing the wall socket furthest away from the cot the glow is unlikely to affect their sleep.

When a child is afraid of the dark it is as well to acknowledge his fear by allowing him to have a light on. If he suspects you may try to turn it off when he is sleeping he may just become more fearful of the dark should he suddenly wake and find that the light is out.