...ways to fight sasquatch

Childhood fears can be paralyzing for the entire family. What can a parent do to help? Let's take a fairly common fear: Fear of the dark. It's late, you want to go to bed and your child is in tears because he can't get the thought of a monster out of his mind. Typical parent responses include everything from anger (It's late, go to bed!) to shame (You're afraid of a monster? tee-hee) to devaluation (You are not afraid, just go to sleep, it's nothing.) What's left? Follow these easy three steps to empower your child and the whole family will start sleeping like a baby in no time:

1. Identify
Your child is clearly scared, the tears and panic confirm this. Ask your child to keep a note pad next to him in bed. Whenever the scary thoughts come up, teach him to write or draw the the thoughts out. Explain that his imagination is growing and he's just now figuring out how to harness this gift. When the fear begins, teach him to use self talk (this is my imagination, I am ok, I can handle this).


2. Embellish
Now that you child understands he's growing into his imagination, and he's drawn the picture of Sasquatch, ask him to embellish. Add a giant foot stepping on it to change perspective, create a can of Sasquatch spray that repels the creature...the sky's the limit with embellishments. Help your child discover that he's in charge, not the monster.

3. Relax
Sleep is the main goal. Teach your child to count breaths (say, breathe in 1,2,3, out, 1,2,3), use the squeeze release method (squeeze shoulders, count to 10 and release, then move to another muscle group like arms, toes, etc., and repeat process for entire body) or focusing on relaxing a major place of tension (such as the eyes or shoulders) and visualize the area melting as the tension releases.