three year old seeing "things"

[Margie]

Erica (my 3 year old) has been sleeping really bad lately. Sometimes waking up at 4am for the day. Sometimes taking 2 hours to go to sleep. Last night she woke up at 11:30, 12 and 12:30. The last time she woke up she was sitting at the bottom of the steps. We asked her why she was there and she says, "It was looking at me, two black eyes and smiling" and she's totally smiling while she's telling us this and is tickling her face with her hand-like I don't know if "it" was touching her too...

What do you think?

[shadedealer]

Margie,

I have some personal experience with bazaar behavior in children. You have described some atypical symptom to some server childhood disorders. I do not feel a message board is the proper place to discuss it farther.

If you wish to talk about this I will be glad to give any assistance I can. Please write Shadedealer@hotmail.com

There is nothing that love cannot endure

[Margie]

wow-I really didn't think that my child had any kind of disorder and if she did I'd take it to a professional in person. Not some random person on the internet. Thanks for making me worried though. You can rest assured that if I am concerned about my daughter's mental well being I will be getting her the help that she needs. I am thoughroughly convinced that she is completely safe and sound (mentally, physically and emotionally). She has talked about other "friends" that she has "seen" or had contact with in the past. I have talked to others on this board about it. Grown people see spirits and ghosts sometimes and I feel that it was out of line to suggest that my daughter is crazy rather than she may have some gift or just be inmagining things or that it may just have been a dream.

Thanks alot.:mad:

[shadedealer]

My sincere and complete apologies…I had no intent to scare you in any way. I beg forgiveness. By no means did I want to have anything to do with doctoring or diagnosing you child as I stated I had personal experience with such a child.
I felt you might be interested in.
Again I am truly sorry I wrote. I should have known better and again I apologize. Please consider me a total fool and happily go about your life…I am not worth your breath or energy.

In fact Margie, I thank you for once again teaching me to mind my own business.

Shadedealer

[Nyx]

Do you think she might be sleep walking? I've heard some odd stories about what people can do in their sleep. She may have not been fully awake.
Or it could be something else. Maybe she saw something scary on tv, and it's been bothering her. Of course, you never know, there could be something in here room that's bothering her sleep.
Does the room feel any different to you? Colder or warmer than the rest of the house? I might do a little cleansing ritual in her room, and see if it helps her sleep any better.

I hope that helps!

[Laiste]

Margie,

If your daughter has talked about these experiences before she obviously has either a good memory for her dreams, has a good imagination or is actually really seeing some sort of spirits. Now concidering her age I would say the latter is probably closest to the situation. You mentioned that she was smiling while talking about it...that's great cause at least it is not scaring her! I would do a cleansing ritual and also a nightime meditation of sorts with her for "good dreams" and a peacfull sleep. Other than that I don't have any other advise. Keep us posted please.

[Yvonne Belisle]

Ok people think about it a moment. There are lots of reasons that a child may be seeing things. Not all are bad not all are good. Shadedealer there is no reason to get upset. Margie they are only trying to help. All mothers who love thier children are touchy about some consepts and ideas with good reason they get frightened. Shadedealer I am sure that you did not intend to make it appear that the only reason kids would see things is severe problems. Margie they really are only trying to help. If anyone is going to be able to offer any good opinions they will need more information. Remember people there are people that hear voices that have illnessess and people that hear voices because they are talking to someone or some thing it's the same with seeing things. Give us more information. Shadedealer if there is a problem that this is sometimes one of the signs for please tell us what some of the other signs are. There are lots of parents on the board and I am sure that many of us would like that information. I for one know that at one point in time I had 3 children saying that they didn't like the upstairs in our apartment because the lady was always calling them. I put it off to imagination till I was alone and cleaning upstairs one day and she scared the daylights out of me.

[Margie]

Originally posted by shadedealer
My sincere and complete apologies…I had no intent to scare you in any way. I beg forgiveness. By no means did I want to have anything to do with doctoring or diagnosing you child as I stated I had personal experience with such a child.
I felt you might be interested in.
Again I am truly sorry I wrote. I should have known better and again I apologize. Please consider me a total fool and happily go about your life…I am not worth your breath or energy.

In fact Margie, I thank you for once again teaching me to mind my own business.

Shadedealer

I was totally ready to accept your apology and apologize for overreacting until I realized that sarcasm dripping from your post. I realize I overreacted...apparently you don't realize that your post really could've offended someone. I never called you a total fool, said you weren't worth my breath or energy NOR did I say you should mind your own business. If you're going to suggest there is something "bazaar" about ones children I think you should be prepared to catch some flack for it.

Yvonne-I know she was just trying to help but I think it could've been done in a different way. I may have been more receptive to her offer for help or to talk about it. I know you're just trying to keep the peace.

Thank you all for the sugestions. I'll see what I can do with meditation and talking to Erica more about it if she brings it up again. I really liked the suggestion to meditate with her for good dreams and peaceful sleep.

[shadedealer]

Margie,
Again I ask that you will forgive me any sarcasm you might be reading in my post is not toward you or any other but my self. My poor communication skills cause me to unintention anger and worry another.

I called my self a total fool and I am, I should have known better. I could have word my self in many better ways.

My wording

I am not worth your breath or energy.

To my mind meant I have show I am a fool and admitted it.

and

In fact Margie, I thank you for once again teaching me to mind my own business.

To my mind meant if I were taken care of my own house or needs, such as improving my communication skill I would not be making a fool out of myself.

I am truly sorry and sincerely apologise
Shadedealer

[Angelwulfe]

she may be seeing a fairy or sprite or something from that realm considering she seemed to like it. since children are closer to the spirit or astral realm they are more likely to see beings from those realms more than adults. my mother told me that i told her i saw baby jesus behind her when she was pregnant with my sister. i don't remeber this at all i was two and a half at the time. hope all goes well.

[Lavender]

Hi Margie, can your daughter describe this being? It sounds friendly...your daughter doesn't seem to be scared by it. The suggestions for smudging & meditations are good ones. Do you think this might be the reason she's waking up so often? Was she doing that before? It might be good to let this entity know that your daughter needs her rest & perhaps they can visit at a better time. Though, toddlers can change their sleeping patterns for no reasons at all! :rolleyes:

[Margie]

Originally posted by Wildchild
Hi Margie, can your daughter describe this being? It sounds friendly...your daughter doesn't seem to be scared by it. The suggestions for smudging & meditations are good ones. Do you think this might be the reason she's waking up so often? Was she doing that before? It might be good to let this entity know that your daughter needs her rest & perhaps they can visit at a better time. Though, toddlers can change their sleeping patterns for no reasons at all! :rolleyes:

Thanks Wild. I haven't asked her to describe it besdies that night she hasn't said anything else about it. I don't want to ask her "what did you see" or "do you remember seeing this or that" because if it was just a dream or whatever she'll make stuff up to tell me. :rolleyes: Her sleeping patterns have just been a little messed up lately. Maybe four times in the past 3 months she's woken up at 4am...about 4-6 times that it's taken her a real long time to fall asleep and only the other night that she kept waking up. I dunno. She slept fine last night though and woke up at 6am-which is better than 4. :) Thanks for the help. We'll see what happens.

[TheTheologin]

If it starts happening more often you might want to tell her to telli t to leave her alone. My daughter was also waking up at all time's of the night say "She scared me momma" I put water in a spray-bottle with banishing oil in it. She's now sleeping through the night. What you might want to do is put up one of those child safty gates if your bedrooms are upstairs. Sometimes with night terrors and waking up like this, the children try to run from what ever is scaring them (awake or not) and can fall down the stairs and injure themselves. Your daughter might be having plain old night terrors too. Has she been watching anything that's even a little scary? This is the age where their imaginations begin to grow. Even a movie like Aladdin or The Lion King can scare them. This is a period known for "animism" where objects are imbued with animal characteristics, like a child will say that they have lions in their tummie when they are hungry. It is what Walt Disney has made a fortune doing, selling animals to children.

Certain children have very vivid imaginations and sometimes this creates night terrors


here's a site about Night Terrors:

http://www.nightterrors.org/

[Pheonix]

I believe that children can see things we can't. Maybe they haven't had they chance to begin believing in their hearts that things are silly.
If she feels that this is afriendly thing, then I would leave well enough alone. Me and my siblings have been raised by my grandmother mostly and as children we all sat in her basement in a specific room with our "friend" Tho there is as much as 11 years separatung me from the youngesr, and our mother did the same. Now I notice when over that my son has a friend down there. He's never caused harm. If you are very concerned tho you might want to consider trading rooms with your daughter. Something might just bother that room.

Wish you the brightest blessings,
PPheonix

[MidnightSun]

I myself started seeing "things" at a young age. 3 actually now that I think of it. I think its perfectly normal. Just dont do what my parents did..told me it was my imagination and didn't encourage that I try and learn and accept it. I believe its important to help a child develop that sort of a gift, or any gift for that matter. Maybe you could try getting her into a conversation about it..see if she can give you some more information :) Hope this helps :)

[Sisqi]

a possible mundane explanation...
During the phase of sleep right before one falls asleep and right after one wakes up, one is still in a "lucid dream" state. (can't remember the precise medical terms but I could look it up if you really wanted to know). She may just (and most children are) be more susceptible to this trance state where she is awake but still actively dreaming.

just my $.02

[StoneDragon]

this is margies hubby and i can say that i have found out what it wasthat was talking to erica but it is not some thing that is to be talked about on a message bord do to its nature and this is comeing from the childs fother that has satt down with her and had her tell me what she is seeing and the thing that is true kids can see thing at that age there minds are open to everything out there and the do see thing that we as adults cant do to are up bring told that ghost are not reall . so you see im not as new at the is way of life as magie is and there are thing that i have not been able to tell her yet in fear of a lot of things going wrong.

[Willow_Raindancer]

She sounds like a normal (if there is such a thing)
3 year old!


I used to live in a old farmhouse that was "inhabited"
by a spirit. I did not like him either. I could feel
him enter the bedroom at night. He never did
anything and I never "saw" him.
My Mother did see him sometimes.
He'd also move things.
We found out a man had been murdered in
the house by his wife. One of his
relitives was telling my parents about it. He started to
describe him and my mother finished the description.
I know he was a bad person. I could just tell by
the way I felt.
Our house burned down when I was 9. We later
put a doublewide near the old location. It wasen't
long and we knew he fallowed us. It was only 400 ft.
He was not as strong here (I live in this house now)
He could still turn the TV off. We had one of those
TV's with the knob you pull out to turn it on.
He'd push it off. Only in the Master bedroom.
When I lived here as a teen, I'd walk down the hall
and feel a sense of dread, as I got closer to the
bedroom. I'd have to go back.
My parents put a new Modular home 800ft further
away. This house was empty for a month or
two before my family moved in. I think he was
attached to my mother. I haven't really felt him
since we moved in. BUT if I do, you bet I'll not
let my little girl be afraid! He'll have to go!
I'll make sure of it because now I know what to do;)

Don't be afraid to protect your child if you feel
you need to, but friendly spirits are GREAT to
have in a happy home!
;)