My 9 yr old has had these fears for a while. Our old house backed to woods and we had a lot of critters (foxes, snakes, frogs, etc.) coming on the property and nearby. I used to have to remind him almost every night that we have an alarm, he's on the second floor, I wake easily, etc. I added nightlights of his choosing and told him he could keep any light on in his room that he wanted. Nothing was really all that effective, but I think it had a lot to do with the house we were living in. We lived there from ages 5-8 and around age 8 iss when these fears became noticeable. He's normally a really sociable kid with a strong character. We are renting an apartment on the ground floor in a different location and he's sharing a room with his older brother and I haven't had one issue with DS expressing these types of fears. He has expressed that when we find our next house, he will share a room with his brother. His brother adamantly disagrees. So, I anticipate having to deal with these fears again. I will definitely look into the suggested book before then.

This fear is new, right?....and you just added a sibling into the family?

There's your correlation.

also recommend therapy. our therapist has not recommended medication.

Anonymous wrote:My nine year old is suddenly struggling with a whole bevy of fears - ghosts, monsters, people breaking into the house - the works. It's keeping her (and us) up at night and making it tough for her to do day to day stuff she used to do independently (she has a hard time ever being alone). This is a particular challenge because we have a newborn in the house, so we are all pretty sleep deprived. Any suggestions for resources, strategies to help her cope? I had similar fears at that age, so I empathize, but I don't have a good sense of how to help.

I would try to have one of you sleep in her room for a while. The other takes care of baby. I would not start medicine at 9 for this... poor girl

Thanks! We just ordered the book and look forward to working through it.

Anonymous wrote:This book really helped us when DD had similar "worries". It was such a hard time for all of us, hang in there!

What to Do When You Worry Too Much: A Kid's Guide to Overcoming Anxiety

https://www.amazon.com/What-When-Worry-Much-What/dp/1591473144/

The book is excellent. It teaches recognized CBT strategies for conquering fears. My son loved the "worry monster" especially.

Anonymous wrote:Therapist

+1 Dealing with this right now with our sever year old. Her pediatrician put her on Zoloft and we are doing therapy. Anxiety disorder.

This book really helped us when DD had similar "worries". It was such a hard time for all of us, hang in there!

What to Do When You Worry Too Much: A Kid's Guide to Overcoming Anxiety

https://www.amazon.com/What-When-Worry-Much-What/dp/1591473144/

Therapist

My nine year old is suddenly struggling with a whole bevy of fears - ghosts, monsters, people breaking into the house - the works. It's keeping her (and us) up at night and making it tough for her to do day to day stuff she used to do independently (she has a hard time ever being alone). This is a particular challenge because we have a newborn in the house, so we are all pretty sleep deprived. Any suggestions for resources, strategies to help her cope? I had similar fears at that age, so I empathize, but I don't have a good sense of how to help.