A Monster Under the Bed or On It?
| October 4, 2012 | Posted by Hajra under Children |
As a kid I was terrified of monsters – under my bed, in my room. I always thought they would come eat me up and swallow me whole! I remember knocking on my parents’ door at midnight and snuggling close to them because the “monsters in my room won’t go”.
When I grew up, I shared room with my sister so she helped me ignore those “who really aren’t there”.
So, when Holly told me about her book on monsters under the bed, I thought to myself “this is going to bring back some bad memories”. But surprisingly, it made me laugh.
HERE’S WHY THE SHRINK IN ME LOVES THE BOOK
The one thing Holly mentioned to me before she sent it to me was this – review it from your perspective as a psychologist first and foremost. Really, the day I took up psychology, the shrink cap is always on! So, here is a little about the book – via my psychologist goggles still on!
Have you ever wondered how the monster under the bed feels about us, the monsters over the bed?
It is a hilarious take on thinking from the other person’s perspective – I say other person because the little monsters under your bed can be cute and, if treated the way we’d like to be treated, they just might be nice and not be the “eat you up and swallow you” type!
I have always talked about importance of “being and feeling in the other person’s shoes”. This book touches upon the fact that you can understand others only if you know how they see it, how they feel about it and how it matters to them.
It teaches you sympathy – something that the world needs a lot of!
The book shows intelligent ways of helping your child sleep at night–something many parents might appreciate.
Sometimes the light in the room should be left on. Your child needs that.
Though I feel some kids still might have trouble picking up the book about imaginary monsters. Parents need to read the book first and see what the message behind it is – it isn’t about scaring your child.
IS THERE A TROCKLE UNDER YOUR BED?
Haven’t checked.
And I probably have outgrown the whole “little monsters under your bed” scare. But little Trockle makes it likable (or maybe less scary!) to have some imaginary cute creature like that hiding nearby. And if it lets you be in peace and is probably much more terrified of you, then the monster can be “less scary”!
Have you ever been scared of monsters under your bed?
As a kid, did you have trouble sleeping? Or do your kids?
Would you read a book about monsters to your child?
A little about Holly : Holly has been blogging even before they invented the word blog (true story!) and she is a professional writer for over twenty years. To buy her book directly from the publisher go here or to buy it from Barnes and Noble here. And for people living in Houston, there is something interesting for kids too – there is going to be a book reading, signing and painting event for your kids. Check out the details here.
Very interesting website and thanks for post..
Great stuff! you write too well.
@CB S Bank Thank you
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Things so sounds like CBT for kids as in over-analyzing to get over our fears. =) I don't remember having trouble sleeping as a kid, although my parents tell me that it was hard to get me to go to bed because I always wanted to play. =)
@Samantha Bangayan You were super active. Understandable, because you are every where! :)
Latest blog post: How much is Honesty Worth?
I'm a big fan of literature myself, even children's literature. So it's good to see I"m not the only one judging by all the comments. I also happen to have a 1 year old nephew so I may have to start picking up more to read with him.
Thanks for the suggestion.
Bryce
@bryceandcallie You are welcome! Hope you like it! :)
Latest blog post: How much is Honesty Worth?
What is this you and Janette sharing the same story? Monsters in government always worry me more than the monsters under the bed. But yes I would share the story if I had someone to share it with.
@RobertaBudvietas Looks like @JanetteFuller and I read the same book this week! ;)
I love your book review, Hajra. I read Trockle and wrote a book review on my blog yesterday. This book really is wonderful for teaching children to have an understanding of the other person's point of view.
@JanetteFuller Thanks so much! I am so glad you enjoyed the book! Will check out your review now!
Hahaha ;)
Well, I haven't been afraid of monsters (I was rather afraid of the dark, so I always had to have some sort of night light. I still have those, but I don't need them nowadays).
(I think the fact that I slept a lot later helped me to face the fear; although I am still afraid of complete darkness - It seems spooky; I always think that there is someone lurking in the darkness).
I can see how the book can be helpful (especially, coming from holly!).
Oh, yes perspectives ;)
That's a nice thing to consider, isn't it?
Think like someone else (not like, maybe; be someone else!).
@Jeevanjacobjohn The dark was always time to talk when I started sharing rooms with my sister!
Perspectives and their considerations can make things so much better. So many things can get better too!
Started building the new blog as yet?
@Hajra Well, I have finished the blog plan (took a while for me to organize it to a real plan).
I have planned out what type of posts I will be doing to strategies I am going to use (I feel very confident now, especially after the planning!)
@Jeevanjacobjohn Hope things work out the way you want them to!
Question: @Hajra Since you are a psychologist, I believe that you can answer this question with a different perspective: Do you think that everyone is creative?
(My thought is that everyone is equally creative; because for the most part, all of us have the capacity/part of the brain that manages creative tasks. Aren't we only limited by our own beliefs and predispositions?)
@Jeevanjacobjohn Well that is a tough question to answer in a yes or no. Everyone is creative but not necessarily does everyone get an opportunity to be creative or to explore their creativeness.
And expecting the we are just ac creative as the other person is again not right because we differ on various things - intelligence, approach, exposure, comfort and many other factors.
@Jeevanjacobjohn @HollyJahangiri We are but the levels will be different...
@Jeevanjacobjohn We can but how is always the bigger question
@HollyJahangiri @Hajra Aren't we all imaginative in some way? Dreams (as in dreaming while sleeping) perhaps? Ambitions?
@Hajra Shouldn't we then try to create the opportunities?
@Hajra @Jeevanjacobjohn That should have read; "should NOT put stress on people to be..."
My grandmother used to say she thought she had no talent until she realized she had the greatest talent of all: the ability to truly appreciate the talents of others.
She was also very creative when it came to things like interior decorating, and she had a great imagination (playing all the make-believe roles I cast her in when I was little). But I don't think she was particularly driven to "be creative." I worry about people whose self-talk limits them, who say, "Oh, I could never do that," with a tone of longing and regret. Of course they could, perhaps with training, trying, and practice. These people think only children can be creative, and life's passed them by. THAT is sad.
But I don't think everyone's got that kind of imagination or needs that kind of outlet.
Food for thought: Everyone can be creative; not everyone is particularly imaginative or original. This goes for some really intelligent people.I think that's really OKAY - I don't think that's a bad thing, if they don't feel "lacking" or "inferior" and we don't make it into an insult.
But then again... is imagination necessary for sympathy in the absence of similar experience? Is empathy possible through imagination alone, without personal experience?
@HollyJahangiri @Jeevanjacobjohn The exploration of creativity has to be done.... but how is a big question
@Hajra @Jeevanjacobjohn I think most people are more creative than they imagine themselves to be, but I also think we should put stress on people to BE creative if they're not drawn to create. Creativity is play - for the mind and spirit. Maybe it CAN be forced, but I think that's limiting.
Great post...and look at ALL these comments. So, you think you should not blog? Au contraire...you're a successful blogger with a great community and topics we all can relate with. Good for you, Hajra! Keep on, Girl! No monsters holding you back!
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@Soulati | B2B Social Media Marketing Thanks so much! I am just so glad that people come by and read! They make being here so wonderful!
And yes, I am loving in Livefyre!
I don't remember being scared of monsters in my bed. Having said that, I was happy to male my little brother believe that there were some. I am a bad sister, you see!
@JSJ2020 LOL! I have a younger brother and I did scare him too! LOL! But he is brave....
Mine was through the ceiling as you could access our attic from the outside through our utility room and we always left that door open....and the attic door was right outside my room. As soon as I could, I started locking my door at night.........:).
Sounds like an interesting book and I like the premise of getting to know the monster as they might be afraid too.
Holly rocks, doesn't she?
@bdorman264 Oh my! Now you just scared me of my ceiling... no attic nearby but you just made a new thing scary....
@HollyJahangiri is awesome!
@Hajra @bdorman264 I wish everyone thought so! :)
@HollyJahangiri @Hajra Who doesn't? Do I need to put the Kung Fu grip on somebody?
@bdorman264 I had some fascinating and scary attics, closets, and crawl-spaces as a kid. They were both wonderful and terrifying, but I think what made them mostly fascinating and wonderful were the Chronicles of Narnia and my belief that they MIGHT one day open onto a whole 'nother world... ;)
You're far too kind, Bill, but thank you.
@HollyJahangiri @bdorman264 I haven't watched Narnia as yet... or read it!
@HollyJahangiri @bdorman264 I have to get hold of the books soon!
@Hajra @bdorman264 The Chronicles of Narnia are among my favorite books, and they've finally started doing a good job with the movie versions (people have tried and failed, more or less, to do them well over the years). You should read the books, then watch the newest movie versions. They are really excellent. There are seven books, by the way.
Ah, the monsters.... Those items that are unknown and can bring us to the point of abject panic...This book sounds perfect to bring these fears into the known... so that children can learn what is and is not actionable. A lesson we all needed to learn- and some of us failed to do so- so as we age, False Evidence Appearing Real does not stop us from achieving our dreams and goals.
Thanks for alerting me to this book.
@RAAckermanATCerebrations Courage isn't fearlessness - it's simply facing fear and acting in spite of it. But sometimes, courage does banish fear, doesn't it?
@RAAckermanATCerebrations And this book actually makes them just as "human" as we are... in the sense that they might be scared too!
Thanks for coming by! Always appreciated!
The question of how monsters feel about us brings to mind the movie, "Monsters, Inc." Oh yes, there were monsters; however, my brother was my savior and let me crawl into bed with him after waking up from a bad dream. My mother told me to think about Lassie (the collie dog) and go back to bed. It wasn't until I had kids of my own that I understood how tired tired really was! ;-)
@PeggyLeeHanson I haven't watched the movie, but heard its a lovely one!
@PeggyLeeHanson , true - and it's funny, but a little sad. I have one short story that was written well before AI came out - everyone says "That reminds me of AI!" Trockle was actually written well before Monsters, Inc - but of course there are similarities. (Minor ones - little Trockle lives in the world of human children and hasn't got an alternate reality in the back of the closet! If he borrows from anyone, it might be The Borrowers, given his love of using Stephen's smelly old gym sock for a sleeping bag.)
Ha! Holly, great idea.
When I was a kid my parents gave me a book called Max & Moritz (Max und Moritz - Eine Bubengeschichte in sieben Streichen). I had to look it up to remember the name. The thing is that I was deathly afraid of the characters and the story. Far, far to mature for a young impressionable boy. There were no lessons in those stories to build confidence and self-esteem or so I could remember. I picked up a copy recently and at 45 I could still feel the fear I had as a child. Ridiculous.
I think your book has a great concept. Bravo! I hope it does very well.
Hey, I do a monthly book review (video now) on my blog tied to learning, acceptance, sharing and acting on the things in you life that motivate you. I would be happy to do a review of your book for October or November. Is the book available on Amazon? Not a huge following but it would give me pleasure to read it and share it with my audience as well.
Cheers!
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@rdopping Those Germans had some pretty horrible notions of what constituted good reading for kids! LOL I haven't read Max und Moritz, but plenty of fairy tales, and none of them are happy stories. As you say, most of them don't teach good coping skills - always there is some element of convenient magic, deux ex machina, or the children are forced to defend themselves by cunningly killing others.
@rdopping Sounds fantastic - I'd love that! The book is not available from Amazon (though I think there may be a copy from a reseller or two out there). Best to buy directly from the publisher, 4RV Publishing.
@HollyJahangiri Ok Holly. I'll see what I can do. Cheers.
Latest blog post: The Studio: Ep2: Growth, Building Relationships & Dealing with the A-hole Syndrome
@rdopping @HollyJahangiri Yippeee!
@rdopping That is why I said parents should read it once to see how un-scary it actually is! The fear for such things can stay for a long time. Not only does this book touch nicely upon differences of perspectives, it also helps build a level of confidence - maybe the little monsters are scared of us!
As for the book review, I will ask @HollyJahangiri to get in touch with you about it! Yippeee!
Hope France is treating you well! ;)
Hi Hajra
It wasn't what was under the bed as much as what was in the dark. When we moved to the island at 6 years old we had to use an outhouse for awhile and also when the lights went out (wouldn't pump water). I was afraid of the man in the trench coat and hat. Don't know who he was or where he came from (didn't have TV). Hated going outside in the dark. I think my mother stood close by when I had to use the outhouse. I was also afraid of lions that might be lurking near by. I didn't know mountain lions did not look like African lions. But there was an odd mountain lion on the island at times.
Sounds like a real fun book. Don't know of any youngsters now, all the kids are grown up.
Mary
@Mary Stephenson I always felt someone "knocking on my window" when I was alone in my room. I think it was more of a fear of someone lurking close by. Our imagination does run wild sometimes.
@Mary Stephenson I used to have the worst imagination just as I was falling asleep! One of my favorite bedtime stories - I'm sure that it helped me and somewhat influenced my writing in Trockle, as well, was "Bedtime for Frances." For a while, I was convinced there was a dead farmer lying next to my bed. No idea where that came from, either - but with the lights on, there wasn't so much as a bedspread on the floor. With the lights off, I was sure there was a body...
@HollyJahangiri @Mary Stephenson Maybe we read about them somewhere? Don't know how but I always felt someone was knocking on my window!