Children who have “imaginary” friends are most likely labeled as inventive, unconventional, and even precocious in today’s society. We’ve come a long way from the days when children and their childhood chums were discouraged and were considered an embarrassment. But what about those monsters we keep telling children don’t exist?

It’s a complex question for some, because they may not have the expanded perceptions their children do, perhaps their gifts are “asleep,” or they simply don’t want to believe there may actually be something in their child’s room that is causing them emotional distress and making them feel “unsafe.”

When I am engaged in a conversation with a parent whose children who are now beginning to see things around the house, there are chuckles over a fairy spotted, or perhaps an angel seen at night by their childs bed, or their imaginary friend wanting to participate in the family meals and car trips.  It seems to be safe when there is no loss of control for the parent on how to handle the situation.  However, bring up the monster situation and the alarm begins to sound.  Often suggestions that are given as solutions do not honor the child, instead they do more harm than good.

A more popular way of handling monsters currently is monster repellent. Spraying a room with a bottle of water and telling the child “monster repellent spray will keep the monsters away” is not a good idea. If the child has expanded perceptions they’re going to still see that what they’ve called a monster is still around and lose faith in their parent, possibly breeding distrust and disbelief. Telling the child they are imagining their monster is even worse to say because you’re telling them not to trust their own senses. If a child is seeing monsters then we should treat them just as we would their so called imaginary friend. The spray was tried by an adult in my household, and it failed miserably. Ironically two children informed the parental figure to please get their money back because the spray didn’t work.

So what are more positive choices and actions in such situations? Some are practical maintenance of the home and an awareness of the energies around us, while others are as simple as treating the child with the same level of respect as we desire when we have been going through something distressful.

Clearing a room, indeed a home, is always a necessity, and a tool that works better than that bottle of water some like to call “monster spray.” Please read my Blue Papaya blog, The Home Environment to get tips on how to clear a home or room.  Children with sensitivities usually need to have this done weekly or bi-weekly, regardless of where you live, or other environmental probabilities.

Clearing should definitely be done if you are living in a new home or in an apartment, due to energies that may have been left behind from previous tenants and/or owners.  Another consideration is if you or your parenting partner may be working in an environment that may bring home unwanted “guests” to your home. This is especially true for those who work at hospitals, work as EMT’s, fire fighters and various levels of law enforcement. Social workers, case workers and other jobs that require the adult to enter into communities or situations in which the energy is less than good may allow this attachment to come home with you. A good practice is centering and protecting your energy before you enter the environment and clearing when you leave.

When your child tells you there is a monster, please believe they’ve seen something. It may be a bad dream, but until you’ve investigated the situation further, you must take them at their word. Learning of this situation in the middle of the night isn’t always easy,  there are no quick ways to get to the heart of the matter but obviously this is a situation where the child’s needs must come first.  If this situation arises in the middle of the night, please remove your child from the area and let them sleep with you until everyone is in a better mind to discuss what happened sensibly.

Discuss the monster situation with your child someplace neutral in your home, not where the monster was seen. Perhaps take time to draw or color with them and ask them what happened. Often children know where the monster came from (closet, hallway, etc) and can give some interesting details to the situation. Perhaps draw a monster from your childhood and encourage the child to draw you their monster. Help them to see, if applicable, that you too have seen things that you cannot explain.

Next take some time when your child is not with you and sit quietly in the room where the monster was spotted and ask for help in understanding the situation. After a time you might ask to speak to the Deva of the room and ask for information that will help you to understand what your child has seen.

When we moved into a new home it was my son’s room that was the hot spot of “dark man” and monster material. The children were consistently seeing a dark energy that had red eyes and on occasion they saw other energies that were unexplainable. They also feared my son’s closet and after further investigation I realized that his closet was a vortex energy point, negative in energy. Many of the energies they were sensing were just moving through this vortex, using it as the universe intended and we have a positive vortex point in our side yard that actually extended into our living room. These were vortexes that needed to stay in balance, so we asked that the vortex users to please not linger, but rather to use the vortex in a manner that wouldn’t disturb the children, such as not exploring the house when they planned on exiting or entering the vortex.

I then explained to the children what was occurring, and to be honest, they were more interested in the things they were seeing in the positive vortex than the negative.  Once they understood that things must be held in balance, they were more at ease. I then worked with them to teach them how to ask their guides for protection through the night.

Through it all the kids were given information at a level that was respectful, honest, and understandable. There were no wrong questions, everything was answered, even with “I’m not sure” or “I don’t know.”  But they were assured that they were not wrong in their perceptions and that they had a parent committed to helping them to understand the situation as best as possible. In our situation this has helped them to trust their expanded perceptions, especially when we compare notes and delight in the fact of how differently we perceive the same things.

Make sure to talk to your child honestly and evenly about their monster situation. You might even take the time to sleep in their room to get a feel for what happens during the night in that area of your home. Some children will tell you what a monster says, and in my experience, it’s often very benign. Clear the effected area regularly, and, of course, be prepared to be woken in the night.

Above all it is imperative that the child is believed. Even if you cannot say that you believe them, or see them, it does not mean that they aren’t real. Most likely what they’re seeing is real, and whether or not these extended perceptions stay with them for their entire life, or it’s just for a short time, we need to honor and respect what the child is seeing and feeling.

~*8*~

We Are Not Alone

I would suggest reading “We Are Not Alone” by Atala Toy for those of you wishing to have a greater grasp as to why we need to maintain a balance between positive and negative energies, and what they are here to teach us.

Her latest release, “Nature Spirits, Spirit Guides, & Ghosts” (published by Quest Books) is a delightful and easy read, and will provide many insights regarding the various energies you or your children may be perceiving.

Authors Note: This blog was difficult to write simply because there are SO many different  and more in-depth situations that arise with youth and their evolving perceptions. I am sorry if the advice given here does not cover your experience with this topic, but I am very open to hearing your stories and suggestions of positively handling this topic.