Monster Bed, The

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The book then changes setting into inside the forest, where we see a small monster named Dennis and his mother, [3] showing that Dennis was very polite for a young monster. It describes Dennis's fear of humans, which leads to the next part of the book. [4] Dennis's fear of children [ edit ] Dennis's mother gives Dennis his teddy bear and leaves the lights on for Dennis.

We had “a white man” walking around his room before and occasional monsters hiding around his bed. But this time, it turned into a pattern – for a few nights in a row, we had a scared child, a horrible monster under his bed, and a grumpy sleep-deprived mummy. We needed a solution. Why are kids afraid of monsters under the bed? Some researchers even suspect that it is evolutionary. At night humans are more vulnerable to predators. So children are hardwired to dream about frightful and dangerous creatures to have some practice runs before being chased by a real sabre-tooth tiger. In our modern world, a scary sabre-tooth tiger turned into a monster that haunts children at night – blame the TV shows, social media, games and even books! Some editions of the book come with a plush toy of Dennis, the main character, with a teddy bear in one hand and his pillow in the other. All of the toy's limbs are moveable, including the monster's ears, and it was made to be a bedtime toy. The toy follows all of the details in the book, down to the texture of Dennis's skin. Dennis's mother is a larger monster than Dennis, though obviously of the same species. [3] A caring mother, she tries to get her son, Dennis, to sleep on top of his bed and to discontinue his fear of humans. [5] When Dennis refuses to sleep on top of his bed, she goes through extreme difficulties to get him to sleep. She keeps the light on, she gives Dennis his teddy bear. [5]

Teaching Ideas and Resources:

We’ve practised it for a couple of nights, and it helped Max believe that he is in control. When he slept through the night for the first time, I praised him:

Can you ‘act’ the story and perform it to an audience? You might want to find some props to help you and add sound effects / music too. The introduction starts the book in the setting of a small picnic of a human and his dog. The human is apparently telling the reader to not venture into the Withering Wood, a forest of trees rumored to have legendary creatures such as hairy trolls, nasty gnomes, and scary pixies and fairies. [2] Fear of monsters under the bed, similar to nightmares, start between four and five years old as a child’s imagination becomes more vivid and they start to understand more abstract concepts, such as fear, but still have trouble distinguishing fact from fantasy. One night last week, we had an unexpected visitor in our bedroom. The intruder slid between the sheets, hugged me tightly and whispered: “Mummy, there is a monster under my bed! It’s really scary. Can I sleep with you?” A Monster Repellant Spray: you can mix water and lavender essential oil in a small spray bottle and, as part of the bedtime routine, spray under the bed and wherever the monster is hiding;Look at existing pictures of monsters. Could you try to recreate one of these using different types of art materials? Faeries Don't Believe in Humans, Either: When her son panics about the possibility of humans crawling under his bed, Dennis' mother tells him that humans are fictional creatures. At the end, the narrator tells the reader to avoid the Withering Wood, or they might meet Dennis' mother, who would tell them they don't exist.

While searching for solutions on the internet, I was surprised to learn that there is a special term for fear of monsters – teraphobia. And apparently, it is very common in young children. Scientists say that fears are a normal and healthy part of childhood development (the same as tantrums). They help them to make sense of the world and develop important coping skills for their whole life. As we said earlier, the monster under the bed (and particularly the bogeyman) has become a part of popular culture, frequently appearing in literature, film and TV. Fungus the Bogeyman is a well-known children’s book, while the Harry Potter series also has its own version in the form of the shapeshifting Boggart. There is a theorythat suggests that the bogeyman and monster under the bed are (or were) very real indeed and that our fear is a natural evolution toward this threat. The theory belongs to Peter Gray, professor of psychology at Boston University, and comes from our hunter-gatherer days where children would fear bedtime because of the threat of wild animals. If you buy into this theory, these predators are the origins of our bogeyman. While “the monster under the bed” issue may be a big challenge, it gives parents an opportunity to teach a child very important coping skills that will last a lifetime. How we coped with the monster under the bed Dennis has a strong fear of human children. He believes that there are humans underneath his bed, just as humans believe there are monsters underneath their beds. [5] This fear has led him into trouble with his mother. He has even bitten her nose while she was about to kiss him. [14] However, in the end, Dennis chose to sleep underneath his bed so that the children could not find him underneath there. [6] Dennis's mother [ edit ] Dennis's mother (right) listens to Dennis (left) explain why he believes humans are under his bed and will get him as he sleeps.What if your child is scared of the monster under the bed or another form of the bogeyman? Dr Kauffman has provided some tips you can use to soothe their fears. The dog, a brown and white dog that is owned by the Picnic boy. [2] It is, like its owner, scared of the many stories about the Withering Wood. [18] Night time triggers a lot of fears in children (and adults, for that matter). I think, as humans, we are troubled and startled by the dark because we cannot see well. The more primitive part of our brain, the limbic system, is focused upon looking out for signs of trouble, and I believe that it is on hyper-alert when it is dark and vision is poor. When the limbic system is in this hyper-alert phase, we are prone to perceive threats in instances where none exists.’ Imagine that a monster was a real animal and write a report about it, describing its habitat, diet, adaptations etc. (see Resources below).

While the mysterious monster may still stay under the bed, your child can learn how to cope with his fear. Here are a few ideas: You had your anti-monster shield and stayed in bed for the whole night. What a win! That is very brave of you! You see, you are stronger and braver than your monster!” My goal here was to connect with the child and normalise his feelings. And to show that I had a similar fear and found a way to deal with it. And yes, all the kids love TOP SECRET stuff. Children don’t have years of experience coping with such sounds at night and mastering the art of falling asleep, so they are particularly susceptible to signs or indicators of threat at night. As children enter their primary school years, they develop the cognitive skills and ability to imagine such things as scary monsters, and their fears of the dark get projected onto the caricature of the bogeyman.’ Teach them a Magic Spell that turns a monster into a fluffy bunny: e.g. “Abrakadabra, monster to bunny” (or a frog – Nanny Plum’s favourite spell from the Ben and Holly’s Little Kingdom show)The story tells a tale of a little monster who is scared to go to bed. His poor mum has trouble getting him to go to sleep because the little monster believes that humans live under his bed and they will get him in the night. One night the monster decides to sleep under his bed “for if I am there and a human comes near, it won’t think to look for me, safe under here”. That night a boy becomes lost and finds himself in the monsters cave, he spots the bare mattress and tiredly lies down. The boy mum’s is not there to kiss him good night or look for monsters under the bed so the boy has to do it him. The boy gets down on his knees and... found one! She gives Dennis his teddy bear and also says she will not turn off the light. She begins to kiss Dennis, but Dennis reacts and bites her on the nose. Dennis's mother then promises her son that the humans won't get him. She then readies him for bed. However, Dennis concludes he will sleep under his bed so the humans will not be able to find him. [5] A child lost [ edit ]