How can we convince our toddler that a mended leak in her ceiling is nothing to be afraid of?

Tue, Dec 15, 2009

Q&A

We had a recent leak in our childrens’ room & the repair men had to cut a hole in the ceiling to expose the leak – then they sealed it with plastic & duct tape & left it that way until the next big rain – it has since been repaired completely & the ceiling patched, but my 3 yr old toddler will not sleep in her room anymore & now seems to have a fear of the ceiling in general. HELP!

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23 Responses to “How can we convince our toddler that a mended leak in her ceiling is nothing to be afraid of?”

  1. luv41anatha Says:
    December 15th, 2009 at 3:02 PM

    you should keep her from watching scary movies about leaks in the ceiling…

  2. babyrod6145 Says:
    December 15th, 2009 at 3:29 PM

    Just fix it!

  3. sexy_lil_sarah_69 Says:
    December 15th, 2009 at 4:13 PM

    let her draw a picture and place it over it… or maybe buy a poster of her favorite cartoon show… or let her throw stuff at it

  4. Steven2006 Says:
    December 15th, 2009 at 4:24 PM

    You cant convince a toddler of much of anything because they are too young to understand most everything! Just do whatever you can to take their mind off of it and create distractions to help them forget about it! You cant convince your toddler of anything! They are just a toddler! They wont understand! Just change the subject!

  5. Pratik Says:
    December 15th, 2009 at 5:23 PM

    Put a picture of her favorite cartoon character over the fixed leak.

  6. [email protected] Says:
    December 15th, 2009 at 5:40 PM

    maybe you could show her what is above it? is there an upstairs? maybe you could buy a big net for playtoys that hangs from the ceiling and let her help you line it with plastice to catch any possible water. tell her you are sure it was fixed but this is just in case so she wont worry

  7. thistimearound5765 Says:
    December 15th, 2009 at 6:25 PM

    Put a poster over it or something. Have her pick the poster out.

  8. [email protected] Says:
    December 15th, 2009 at 6:59 PM

    what if you tried putting those glow in the dark stars on the ceiling and laying down with her counting the stars? That might distract her from the fact that there was a big hole ceiling and bring in something different to focus on.

  9. ur askin me Says:
    December 15th, 2009 at 7:20 PM

    say that that leak is a hole that her guardian angel made so that she could watch over your toddler. Tell her she let water down to show her that she was there. i dunno. just an idea.

  10. FloridaGirl Says:
    December 15th, 2009 at 7:30 PM

    I agree with “sexy”, that’s what I was going to say. Buy a poster to hang there, or possibly hang a favorite stuffed animal from the spot. GOOD LUCK.

  11. mikiew80 Says:
    December 15th, 2009 at 8:01 PM

    Ah this should be fairly simple — you will need some glow in the dark stickers,

    have a fun afternoon sticking them on the ceiling — this worked for my daughter who was afraid of being in her own empty room after some bad dreams..

    good luck

  12. haydemi Says:
    December 15th, 2009 at 8:36 PM

    touch the ceiling and then very casually do not make a big deal out of it show her your hands.then when she is at ease, take her in your arms and let her touch the ceiling for herself. hopefully you can rid her of her “fear”.

  13. theawahaid Says:
    December 15th, 2009 at 8:53 PM

    My advise would be to replace the negative associations she has with the ceiling with something positive.

    One thing you can buy in shops are plastic moon and star shapes that stick to the ceiling, which glow in the dark once lights are turned out. Something like this may well help her to get away from her fixation with the leak.

    I remember as a child having a fear of the cupboard in my room… it housed a boiler which made a lot of noise, and I was convinced a monster was in there. I remember my parents buying me a toy dog and telling me he was gaurding the door of the cupboard to keep monsters away. I was never scared after that. Maybe something like this would work.

  14. tonalc1 Says:
    December 15th, 2009 at 9:09 PM

    Maybe you could have her design something she’d like on the ceiling, like some flowers or a favorite cartoon character.

    As I send my mind back to fears at 3 years old, I think the big hole might have scared her, as she doesn’t know what’s on the other side. If you have an attic, maybe you could take her up there to show her what’s on the other side.

  15. blondie_princess_ladybug Says:
    December 15th, 2009 at 9:15 PM

    That is a tricky question…I think maybe take her somewhere where they sell posters and let your child pick a poster with his/her fav. character on it. For example. Winnie the pooh. Tell your child that the hole is gone and that Winnie the pooh will be up there to look over him/her and protect him/her. It’s just a suggestion… Good luck!

  16. ineedtocomeup Says:
    December 15th, 2009 at 9:31 PM

    Convince him/her that he/she was lucky enough to get a special door for the tooth fairy. He/she will be losing some teeth soon, and tooth fairy needs a special entrance to leave him/her money. Or, alternatively, attempt some positive association by formulating a similar story and then making something come true when he/she is sleeping (for example, if he/she already lost a tooth, and the tooth fairy was to visit, he/she would be delighted to find a dollar (or five or ten depending on your circumstances). Just a suggestion.

  17. fishie Says:
    December 15th, 2009 at 9:37 PM

    tell her/him that the plaster was put there to strenthen the roof and that that area is actualy stronger than everything else.

  18. penurtleird Says:
    December 15th, 2009 at 9:42 PM

    take you daughter into the room and tell the story of the ceiling, make it as dramatic as you want: this i how i would tell it:
    once upon a time in a far away land, there lived the ceiling, the ceiling was a very good friend to all creatures, it nutured and cared for everything living under it, but one day the ceiling was very sick, it was very sad and needed some cheering up
    so the lovely guardian of the ceiling (you) called the ceiing docter, and the ceiling docter came right away , he put a big bandage on top of it , then made the ciling feel much better. but, the ceiling is very sad because it cant take of a little girl, it would make the ceiling feel much better if that little girl would sleep under it.
    …..
    i hope it works good luck
    it doesnt have to be like that that was jsut an idea

  19. madamspud169 Says:
    December 15th, 2009 at 9:43 PM

    Go in the room with her daddy and make a big deal and show of praying and asking god to make the room safe again say that when you have finished god please let me see it is ok for me to sleep here again now then go downstairs.
    In a while one of you go to make a cup of coffee or go to the toilet and go into her room secretly and tape a poster of something she really likes or even a big smiley face (I used a smiley face). After a while ask her if she wants to go and see if god has looked at her bedroom and Oh My Word What A Surprise God has made it safe and even put a smiley face there to show it is ok

  20. a_guitarist Says:
    December 15th, 2009 at 9:47 PM

    Awwww! Toddlers… When I was three, I was afraid of the music to the six ‘o’ clock news… As for leaks in the ceiling, I think glow in the dark stars and posters are great ideas. The story-of-the-ceiling is a GREAT idea- I think that’s the one most likely to work! You could try talking to her, finding out just why she’s scared, and explaining that there’s nothing to be scared of. Toddlers will be toddlers! She’ll grow out of it! Just try and take her mind off the ceiling, and don’t MAKE her sleep alone until she’s alright again. Good luck!

  21. dellajoy2000 Says:
    December 15th, 2009 at 10:38 PM

    Hold her up to the ceiling and have her thump on the ceiling to make sure it’s solid. Ask her what she’s afraid of, if she thinks it’s a monster or something make a sign that says ” no monsters aloud out of the ceiling” and tape it side up to the ceiling where the hole is. I read this in a book once, only about closets, it worked for their kid. They believed that the sign worked as a “demon catcher” or whatever.

  22. moonspawn Says:
    December 15th, 2009 at 10:42 PM

    I really like the poster idea and the showing them what is up there. You could make a story about it and get her/him to draw pictures about how they feel about the hole.

    let me knwo what happens.. ok?

    [email protected]

  23. Chris Says:
    December 15th, 2009 at 11:02 PM

    Get a can of air freshner , not the normal stuff you buy but a special scent. Make a new cover for it out of paper and pens(get creative) and call it Monster Spray. ( or what ever your child is afraid of) and then spray the “Monster spray’ at the ‘monster’ to make it go away. The smell will stay around and remind the child that the spray is working. We did this with our girls when the under the bed monster came out. It worked wonders and saved hours of tears and fears.


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