Do you remember being afraid of the dark? I do.
I remember waking up from nightmares, parched and thirsty for water. I remember sitting, frozen, petrified of what might be lurking under the bed. What if there was a monster with sharp teeth? Or a giant, flying insect just waiting to land on me and suck my blood? My imagination running wild, I sometimes was up all night waiting for sunrise.
Then I came upon a book, ‘The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark,’ by Jill Tomlinson. It was a story about Plop, a white baby barn owl who was – you guessed it! – afraid of the dark. The title grabbed me, and so did Plop. Pages later I was that fluffy owl. I fell out of a tree and met so many creatures: a boy who was waiting for fireworks; a scout camping in the wilderness; a black cat on the prowl; a girl who talked about Santa Claus and his Christmas Eve excursions; and an astronomer who showed me the planets in the dark through his telescope.
Before I knew it the story was over and my fear of the dark was gone. I emerged from the pages courageous. I convinced myself that the man in a mask, following me, was just a nightmare. Thirsty? All I had to do was get out of bed, switch on the light and go to the kitchen. And I did.
I was eight at the time I found the book about Plop and his adventures. I remember wishing I had found the book earlier – wishing that I could have been inside the story, finding my courage alongside that little owl. I played out the scenes in my head, pretending and acting out the fears and problems of each character, and exploring with them.
When your children feel frightened, rejected, or angry with the world, what helps you, as a parent, boost their courage and confidence?
Technology was not as advanced then as it is now. Interactive stories by PonyApps weave games and puzzles throughout their fairy tales, allowing kids to dive right in to the story. And with its Fairy Tale Kingdom tool there’s always another adventure at your fingertips. Through this tool parents can find the right tale to help their child overcome a particular challenge, so that when they reach the end there will be a new beginning.
