We moved into a new house when my daughters were 6, 4 and 3. It was a strange environment on the outskirts of the city with few streetlights.
Almost every night, one or more of the girls would wake up crying that she heard a strange noise or she imagined monsters were in her room.
It was scary for them and very frustrating for me. But, it created an opportunity for a parenting victory.
At the time, we had a little American Eskimo dog named Frosty, who was the protector of the house. She would wander from room to room and often jump into bed with one of the girls.
Frosty had a unique quirk in that if I were to stop and stare intently into space, she would go on alert and start growling. If I so much as whispered “who’s there,” Frosty would start barking loudly.
Most of the time, her relentless barking was an annoyance, but this time I put it to good use.
One night at bedtime, I called all the girls together into one of their bedrooms and had Frosty sit among us.
I explained that the ONLY reason why I feed our dog was to protect us from monsters and other intruders.
Calmly, I reassured my daughters that while all of us were sleeping, Frosty was busy keeping watch over the whole house — and she would let us know if there was any trouble.
I explained to my daughters that, because Frosty is a dog, she hears sounds that people can’t hear — even from invisible monsters.
Demonstrating Frosty’s prowess
When I paused and looked intently toward the hallway, Frosty started to growl.
I explained she does that when something doesn’t seem right to her, so she is warning whatever it is to not come any closer.
Most of the time, Frosty is able to keep monsters and other scary things out of the house with just a low growl.
So, I told my girls if they ever heard Frosty growling at night that it was okay. She was keeping watch over the house and protecting us.
I explained the only time my daughters really needed to be concerned at night was when Frosty started barking wildly. I demonstrated that by asking Frosty “who’s there?”
She jumped off the bed and raced to the top of the stairs barking with all her might.
A few seconds later, I called Frosty back to the bedroom. I explained that if my girls heard Frosty barking like that at night, they should be concerned because it could mean there is a fire or some other danger.
However, if Frosty were to bark like that at night, I promised the girls that either their mom or I would get up and see what the problem was.
The demonstration worked! None of my girls ever woke up in a panic over noises or illusions of monsters in their room again.
Even if they were afraid, they knew they could call Frosty and she would sleep with them for a while.
A real intruder
Ironically, a year or two later, Frosty did wake up in the middle of the night barking loudly at the front door. I woke up and opened the door.
Like white lightning, Frosty ran out the door, stopped about 20 feet into the yard and took off barking before racing into our backyard and the cornfield behind our house. A few minutes later, Frosty returned strutting like a queen.
The next day, I discovered that someone had broken into my car, rifled through the glovebox and that my cell phone was missing. A few weeks later, the girls found my cell phone in the field behind our house.
Apparently, when I opened the door and Frosty came charging out, she raced after the thief and took a bite out of crime, forcing him to drop the stolen goods and run away.
So, if your daughters struggle with imaginative worries late at night, perhaps my inspired solution — and K9 Frosty’s demonstration — will work for you, too.
