Concern for my granddaughter age 10. When she goes to bed each night just

[lilacben]

lately my daughter says she been crying in her bed and sometimes comes down and is terrified to go back to bed. She says she can hear talking and load noises, even said she thought someone was walking around her room.And knocking on her window, But they are in a town house which is three stories high so she couldnt possible have someone tap the window. No trees or bushes around either.
Now normally she is a little girl who loves attention. You does have asthma and at times takes her inhaler when really I don;t think she needs it. Usually when they have visitors or go somewhere.
I am tending to think she is imagining it and have told my daughter just to play it down.Not to make a fuss and just say it is the radiators cooling down. But granddaughter says no it isnt that.
Could I have some feedback please as how to go from here.? She didnt mention voices until my daughter asked her if she heard voices. Now she says she does. Her bedroom is shared with her nearly 6 year old sister so she isnt in the room alone. Nor does her sister hear anything.
Many thanks

[yogi-bear]

Hi lilacben,

Has your Grand Daughter maybe seen something on TV recently, perhaps was a bit scary for her, and is re-acting to that? or maybe read a book or story that was a bit too adult for her and was abot noises and knocks etc?.

I would just do as your daughter is doing...play it down and re-assure her that nothing at all is there and maybe have a bit of mid-evening fun before bed, such as a game of cards, quiz games or a board game, even a funny dvd, so she is relaxed at bedtime.

We have personal experience of ghosty's and sacry objects with our two youngest kids when they watched an episode of Dr Who, which was broadcast at about 6.15pm, with NO announcement warning at the beginning that it had really scary content in it, and it featured things in it called Weeping Angels.....scary statues that if you blink, wil come nearer to youand eventually take you away.....they both screamed their heads off and Mrs bear turned it off straight away......even though it took about 3 weeks for them to forget about it and sleep properly again......The Weeping Angels returned in later episodes and they STILL at a few years older, wont watch it!

I hope you getit sorted and your lovely grand daughter gets over it really soon....it may be just a phase....I would advise your daughter to monitor it and see how she responds in a couple of weeks...Christmas is so near now and hopefully the excitement of it all.....decorations and presents....Father Christmas ( yes, he DOES exist imo lol ) will take her mind off her worries.

Best of Luck, sweetheart
:0) x

[AvaD]

I think maybe this could be a cry for help for something totally non-related? Maybe your daughter could sit her down and ask if there are any issues at school or anything. 10 is a tricky age, on the cusp of change; leaving primary school and entering her teens x

[boxtops]

Has she by any chance seen any of the trailers for the Secrets of Crickley Hall, being screened at the moment....?

[yogi-bear]

Could be, avaD, but issues at school i.e. perhaps bullying or being made fun of, tends to bring out withdrawal, not willing to talk at all/ quietness....even non interest in everyday things...loss of appetite, or imaginary pains and symptoms on school day mornings to stay off hopefully, as doesnt want to face going in.......but as i said, could be?...so a chat from Mum would not hurt at all. :0)

[lilacben]

Thankyou , you have all been very helpful. My daughter tends to panic a bit and I have thoughts that really makes it worse. So that was why I said play it down. Today I was talking to my granddaughter and said that I have trouble sleeping and sometimes talk to myself in my head. And so I suggested she takes her ipod to bed with her under her pillow and listen to her music until she goes to sleep. I think we all know, as adults, you can lay awake and imagine all sorts of things at night. But it isnt easy to explain that to a child.
I wondered if there is something at school worrying her. Trouble is with her she seeks attention all the time and cries over the slightest thing, some of her class mates do take the micky out of her I think. Plus as you said she will be going up to secondary school next september. and I know she is worried about that.
About the television. again I do not think she watches the right program mes sometimes and, as you say she may have seen something that has put the idea into her head. As for Dr Who and the Weeping angels....I hated that one myself.lol. In my mind those Dr Who's shouldnt have been on so early because of children seeing it. But my daughter did let the children see them.
I will pass on your thoughts to my daughter and she can prehaps get some
tips from them. xx

[DTCwordfan]

in short, it's about keeping things age relevant, I feel - what is good one for one gander isn't necessary good for the next goose; that is all about understanding your grandaughter (and, most importantly, for your daughter to do so) and then managing her exposure to the unsavoury side of the media..........and loads of reassurance to any fears.

[Sammy48]

sorry to hear about your granddaughter, but I agree with yogi bear it could be something she has seen on tv. In fact, some of the adverts seem a little ott sometimes. There is one I saw a few nights ago advertising cough mixture, think it was lemsip or similar, it was some creature on a guy's back, it had a horrible face and in my mind, not suitable for showing on early evening tv.

[karenmac60]

Some kids just seem to go through really anxious phases around this age. I think there's quite a bit of pressure now for them to be 'grown up' when at heart they are still children - plus they seem to get hormonal much younger now too. I can't really offer any suggestions - it usually seems to be a case of working through it and comforting them without making it a big deal and eventually it should pass. Good luck though x

[David H]

Children have reported seeing and hearing 'invisible' people throughout history, and when ridiculed tend to lose the ability. But read about the ones who described the appearance and information from dead relatives they had never met and you'll find it hard to work out how they knew about it. These abilities peak in childhood and then drop off mainly due to the reactions they bring in adults. There are many other possible causes of course but when they've presented genuine information in numerous examples there must be a different explanation, I've got a few books about it and it's the same across time and worldwide.