7 y/o son suddenly afraid of nighttime separation

[idoc]

Our seven year old son has, for the past two weeks, been extremely fearful of being without his father or I during the night.  We believe that this stemmed from an older child telling him that a van was going around our neighborhood stealing children.  We have tried everything to convince him that this was not true and that he is very safe in our home.  He says that he is afraid of the dark but will not sleep even with different nightlights and dim lights on unless he is with one of us.  We've let him try to sleep with his little brother and with his dog but it doesn't help.  If we sit with him he will eventually fall asleep but wake up soon after to panic when he finds he's alone.  The only way we've been able to sleep is when one of us spends the entire night with him.  And even then he wakes up several times asking what this noise or that noise is.  We've tried "practicing" in his room during the day time and leaving him in there for longer periods of time, we've tried offering rewards, we've tried checking on him in 2 minutes, five minutes, seven minutes, etc, but he panics, cries, and is unable to be reasoned with.  We are not sure what to do at this point.  Is it unusual for a child of this age to experience this level of panic for this length of time?  He is a very intelligent and intense child.  He does very well socially and academically in school and hasn't been acting strangely in any other way.  He is extremely stubborn in other areas of his life, such as his clothing, etc, but he does seem genuinely panicked in the evening. Is it time to seek counseling?Thanks

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

Actually, this type of response over a relatively short period of time is understandable. Relatively speaking, this length of time is not worrisome. Try not to initiate new routines that will then become difficult to disengage from. Be patient and supportive, and as much as possible try to stick with the usual routine. This will tone down eventually, probably in a gradual sense. You needn't seek counselling at this point. If, after another week or so, the intensity hasn't waned a bit, speak with his pediatrician about a short-term (and I really mean short-term, i.e., 5-7 days) use of medication around bedtime. The medication (such as hydroxyzine or benadryl) will help him to fall asleep more quickly and then to remain asleep instead of waking up repeatedly. Once he breaks the cycle, and be sure to establish a reward system for sleeping in his bed through the night, things will likely be better.