Toddlers and Monsters

A father’s words should be instructive, yes; but also compassionate and understanding. It’s important for parental interaction to meet the child at the child’s level no matter how young.

For example, the other night my 2-year-old daughter was having difficulty getting to sleep. Every parent of a toddler knows the routine: The kid gets out of bed repeatedly crying all the while. This was unusual for her; she usually falls right to sleep after her bedtime story.

I asked her “What’s wrong, Sweetheart?”

“Monster – eat – me!” was her tearful and terrified reply.

I knew this would be a turning point moment and that it was no time to question her about where she got this childish notion of monsters getting her. You can’t argue with a kid about things like that. They get their minds set and there’s no reasoning with them.

An attempt to explain anything to her would not only be a waste of my time, but would also be casting pearls before swine. Is she a swine? No, of course not, but in her fear, she is completely unable to comprehend the reality that monsters don’t exist; and naturally, it was a real bind for a father to be in.

Not only did I want to be compassionate toward her tender little feelings and naïve perceptions, but I was also really sick and tired of the crying and was ready for it to stop.
That’s when it happened. I’ve no idea where it came from unless Solomon himself stopped by to endow me with a statement of such wise counsel.

The words came out of my mouth like honey out of something from which honey flows: “Baby Girl, I’ll let you in on a little secret about monsters, OK?”

“K, Daddy,” she managed, sniffling.

“Monsters are all blind as bats. They can’t see a thing, so the only way he’s going to be able to find you is by the sound of your crying. Keeping totally quiet means no worries. OK, Precious?”