Whenever our son expressed fear of the dark, we sat with him and tried to explain his emotions to him. We'd say things like:
- "It's scary in the dark isn't it?"
- "It's not nice being on your own when the light's off is it?"
This helped him to understand why he was scared, to give it context.
We then got a night light for his room and every night would tell him:
- "Look, your special light is on so you can see."
Whenever he was scared we would sit with him until he calmed down. To be honest, his fear wasn't extreme so this was quite easy for us.
Because he needs to face his fears, when we'd leave and he'd object, we'd try to encourage him with things like:
- "You can stay here in the dark because Mr. Bear is looking after you as well"
- "You'll be alright because you're brave like a lion"
We also made clear that if he was too afraid, he could always:
- Call us if he needed us
- Come into our bedroom to get us
Eventually, he built up the courage. It's a long and frustrating journey for parents, but worth it.
And if you think being scared of the dark is bad...you wait until they think crabs are going to get him and all his teddies! :)