MY CHILD SEES PEOPLE OR GHOSTS.

 

This is a common complaint I hear about from mothers. They have children who won't sleep in their rooms because they keep seeing people or shadow figures in the room. This can be caused by things other than ghosts. A healthy imagination or an excuse to not be left alone when the child would much rather snuggle in the warm, secure confines of the parents bed. Usually an "only child" experiences ghosts in the bedroom. Sometimes an only child who has little interaction with children their own age will make up imaginary friends. My 6 year old son has an imaginary little brother named ANGELO who is the worst imaginary friend of all.

When I ask my son who made this mess, he replies "ANGELO". ANGELO breaks everything, gets everything dirty, scatters all the toys, forgets to lift the toilet seat, etc. etc.

My son, who would not dream of doing any of these things,... LOL, seems to just sit and watch ANGELO do all these terrible things. I finally told him to tell ANGELO he had to leave our home because he breaks all the rules. Now ANGELO is no more.

Children are blessed with the fact that they have not had their minds polluted with the common beliefs of society and their young minds aren't programed to reason things out. So when a child actually sees a ghost, they are either afraid or feel comfortable depending on the spirit itself. Some spirits feel comfortable being around children because they don't judge them or they remind them of the children they once had or were. Ghosts can appear so real that the child might not even know they are ghosts. They'll play games or tell stories just like the parents do so the child won't feel threatened by them. The ghost may have lived in this house before. Ghosts will often try to make their presence known in many different ways but we adults pay no mind to weather the lights were left on in the bedroom or the TV had changed channels when you left the room. Children are more prone to notice suttle little clues left from ghosts.

So how do you tell if it's a ghost or an imaginary friend?

A child is less likely to be frightened by an imaginary friend. If you have more than one child who sees the same ghost, it's probably real. Have the child draw a picture of the person he or she sees. Pay close attention and see if you recognize the person. Could it be a past relative or someone you used to know. Check with neighbors and see if they have photos of previous owners of the house or see if they recognize the person in the drawing. Go through photo albums with the child and see if anyone stands out.

Relatives are more likely to come back and visit the family they left behind.

Ghosts who are strangers and shadow figures are scary to children. Sometimes they play on the emotions of scared children or even adults. These were people who were angry or mean in life as well as death. These are the ghosts you will eventually have to stand up to and demand that they leave your family alone and that they must go to the place they are supposed to be at on the other side. Sometimes just reminding the ghost that its dead will get rid of them. Do this only when the child is not home.

Teach the child to ignore it and the less attention it receives, the less desire it has to stay. You may have to get creative on how you discuss the subject of ghosts to children because you don't want to add to their fears. You will know how your child will react to the idea of ghosts better than anyone else can. Just explain that death is another beginning and people start a new life in a new place but sometimes we come back to this world just to see how our loved ones are doing. sometimes a "special object" chases the bad dreams and feelings away like dream catchers and crystals. The dream catcher seemed to help my boy when I sat down and explained in a special way just for him to understand that this magic object will catch all those bad dreams and let the good ones come through. That it only allows people who are our friends to visit us and tells strangers that they can't come in. Eventually, the fear will pass and the childs mind will close and it will reason away the notion of ghosts because society teaches us that you have to be crazy to see ghosts.

- Troy Wood