As a child I was always afraid of the dark. I was a happy child until darkness fell and then my world turned up side down. I was afraid to go near windows for I thought there were eyes watching me. I would not sleep by myself for I thought someone would come and get me. Sleeping near the edge of the bed was something I never did because something might be under my bed. My arms and legs could never lean off the bed for something might grab them pulling me away.

Mother and Dad tried many times to get me to sleep in another room but I would cry for hours. I was bitterly afraid of the dark. It wasn't because anyone had scared me because my parents were wonderful Christian people.
No one knew exactly why I was so afraid but it would petrify me to be alone in the dark. The only other person that I would sleep with was my dear ole grandmother. She would allow me to sleep with her because she lived alone. Her bedtime stories would put me to sleep but of course my arms were wrapped around her until sleep came.

I grew up and had two children myself. I was concerned about both of them having this awful fear of the dark as I had so I decided to put that fear to rest before it became an issue. I found that allowing our pets to sleep in the same room with the children did the trick. We purchased two little poodles one for each child and allowed the tiny creatures to sleep in the room with them. Neither of them were afraid of the dark and slept in their rooms without any problem. The only times they were afraid was if they watched a scary movie and that was not often.

Many children have this problem and parents wrestle with it a great deal of the time. I would like them to know of my success with this. Keeping pets is a responsibility so we had to share this. I trained the dogs, bathed them and fed them. The children just played with them and used them for watchdogs at night.

If you have children that are bitterly afraid of the "Boogie Man" you might give this idea a try. Poodles are not shedding dogs and do not affect allergies as much as dogs that shed hair periodically. I have found that poodles, the bischon and the Maltese breeds are best for the shedding problems. Give it a try! I believe you will have good results and your children will not be so afraid of the dark.

About Author / Additional Info:
Sybil Shearin is a Christian published author, writer and poet. She has won many awards for her writings. Visit her website and enjoy her poetry. Find her at http://www.PetalsofPoetry.com or http://www.RosePetalsPoetry.tripod.com
Enjoy!