For the past few months, Karl had been living in fear, not to the extent of unable to sleep and eat but more towards feeling afraid whenever he is alone. He dare not go upstairs alone and dare not bathe if I’m not standing outside the bathroom. At first, I thought he was just not brave enough but after talking to him, I found out the reason or the trigger of his fear.
It was the “monkey in the window” that scared him. Every time he bathes, he would imagine a monkey sitting in the window looking at him and that monkey has a scary look. Well, how did the monkey come into his imagination? The source was none other than the computer game he played.
As a mother, I was glad that he told me about the “monkey” and about his fear. Searching for ways to help him, I came across this book “Sam Feels Better Now!” by Jill Osborne and thought I would read to Karl, hoping that we would both learn how to get the fear out of him.
This book is about Sam who saw something awful and was scared. His mother brought him to the therapist who helped him feel better. For me, this is a wonderful book that comes in just in time for me to read to Karl. The interactive story coupled with beautiful illustrations and some worksheets (as shown in the following pictures) is the mean to help children relate their terrible experience through activities like drawing, coloring, play and story telling. From there, we, the parents, learn how to help children handle their trauma. It also encourages children to attend therapy sessions if the need arises.
Now, Karl feels much better. He told me he is not afraid of the “monkey in the window” anymore. After going through the activities in the book with him, he sort of found a way to forget the scary monkey by replacing that image with something friendlier - the monkey in Kung Fu Panda! Phew, am I relieved!
So, if your child is feeling scared, try reading him this book “Sam Feels Better Now!” It helps.
