[g_veraart]

My child said when he was about 3 years old that he saw a monster in his room and it was waiting for him. He said that the monster told him his name was ebi (not sure of the spelling - could be ibi.
He is now four and a half and recently has been saying that the monster is back (same name as before) and again is quite frightened.

[tickle]

I can remember being small and being afraid of the monster in the closet. Never forgot it, but my mom downplayed it and the monster eventually went away.

[stevetcg]

Have you tried using Monster Spray? We keep a bottle of it handy all the time.

It's a spray bottle of water with a few drops of anise extract in it to make sure the monsters can smell the protection it provides.

Our son swears by it!

[Curlyben]

We have monster "repellent" that works a treat.
Basically just fruity kids shower gel, makes them smell nice to and keeps ALL monsters away, gets them clean as well.

Yes, may sound trite, but letting your kids know how they can beat things like this is all part of the plan.

[martinizing2]

Monster spray and repellent are great ideas.

I found that a subtle night lite (monster repelling type) works well too.

[tickle]

Night lite is a good idea but I don't believe in 'sugar-coating' this issue with placebos; I don't think that sends the right kind of message. Straight no nonsense talking, kindly of course, to a child does wonders. Scary things cannot always be handled in later life with placebos.

Tick

[martinizing2]

Maybe a progression of
1. Defeat the monster. Get rid of the fear.
2. Explain when the child can better grasp that it was his belief that he could defeat the monster that really defeated it and not the spray or the light.