Scared at Night time

[Do it all Dad]

My 8 year old son seems overly scared at night.  Every night when it is bedtime he is frightened about one thing or another.  Sometimes he is scared of his mother and me being dead when he wakes up, sometimes he is scared of the house burning down when we are sleeping and more times than not he is scared of monsters or movies or other things he sees when he is watching TV.  We don't let him watch anything that is not age appropriate and to be honest we usually only let him watch things that are meant for a much younger audience because of this problem.  Is my son Ok?  Is there something else we should be concerned about?  His friends don't seem to have this problem.  Thank  you for your time in answering this question.

[fatherintx]

The problem may not be with the child.  It is not a good ideal to have a child sleeping with the parent(s) on a consistant basis.  I am not a professional, but it seems do emotional harm to a child.  The child becomes too dependent on the parent thus becoming more anti social.  Start with small settings of people that you trust.  Make sure these people and yourself comfort your son.  He will have to learn to trust. That things are going to be okay.  I no from experience what you are going through.  Remember some children are more sensitive than others.  Also take a look at yourself.  Children can sence if you are anxious or fearful.  It makes them feel the same.  

[mamas worried]

Need help please!
My 8 yr old son, refuses to sleep in his own bed.
It's mostly my own fault, as he is the only child left in our home. so I compensated
and let him sleep in our room, since he was young.
The only way he will sleep in his own bed is if my husband rubs his back until he falls asleep, which was the way he always fell asleep.
He constantly worries, about me dyeing,and him being alone.
Never a behaviour problem in school or at home.
He has no friends altho, he is in little league,
he feels that no one likes him. He is babyish, and of course spoiled by us.
In school he says that the kids do not want to play with him and that they run away from him and call him weird..
His teachers since he started school all praise him for being the most respectfull child in the school.
His grades are excellent,he is now going into the 3rd grade and has had these feelings of not being liked all through K Ist
and 2nd grade.
He is very lonely, and cries because of not fitting in...He tries so so very hard for kids to acknowledge him and to be accepted and liked.
That I think is why he depends on me,and says Mommy you are my only friend and without you I would be all alone,
Please help me help my son
I've talked to the teachers and they seem to not notice these feelings in my son.
Also his DR. I talked to and thats why with his advice he suggested that my son sign up in baseball, which he loves. Thanks so much !!

[jdtm]

My friend's son acted very similar to this when he was younger - afraid his mother would be killed in a car accident, afraid a tornado would eradicate his home, afraid to sleep in his bed at night, etc.  At eight years of age he was diagnosed with GAD (Generalized Anxiety Disorder) by a child psychologist.  He then attended group therapy in order to learn how to cope with his "worry dragons".  Although he is the only person in his family diagnosed with GAD, the family (on both sides) does have a genetic history of other anxiety disorders.  Just a thought .....

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

Your son's nighttime fears are not uncommon in young children; they represent a version of separation anxiety. More often than not, such fears are of manageable proportions. That is, after some reassurance, comforting, and perhaps even some sensible limit-setting (e.g., re: repeated episodes of getting out of bed), children are able to fall asleep. If the fears become more intense and interfere with a child's getting to sleep and having an appropriate amount of sleep, you can seek professional help with a pediatric mental health professional.