My son is almost 3 years old. About 2 months ago he started screaming off and on during bedtime saying that he sees "birdies". At first we thought this was a ploy to stay awake longer but the way he cried definitely had a "terrified" tone to it-not just a pretend cry. Sometimes it will happen before he falls asleep, sometimes it will happen during the night. He does experience night terrors from time to time but I definitely know the difference and his behavior is quite different in the two events.
These "birdies" seem to scare the daylights out of him and he begs us to tell them to go away. Sometimes we have to tell them several times to leave but it seems they do, and then he goes right to sleep and is fine. His eyes also follow the "birdies" around the room.
Now the situation has evolved more because yesterday DH, myself and DS were snuggled in bed in my room and my son keep saying "scarey". We asked him what was scarey and he said "scary girl". We asked him where is the scary girl and he pointed to the corner of my bedroom. This was in the middle of the day and he was wide awake.
Here are the other details to consider: I saw ghosts when I was a child. I remember it very vividly. It happened more than once and it terrified me. My grandmother saw visions and had "psychic" dreams. Her father had various "psychic" abilities which included being able to make objects move (I never saw this as he passed before I was born but my father and several family members claim to have witnessed it). I also have a 5 year old niece that claims to see "scary people". I have felt uneasy in this house, like someone is watching me, and strange things do happen here such as loud noises, doors opening etc...
I am very concerned that my son is seeing ghosts/angels/spirits etc... And I don't know what to do for him. I'm not sure if this is just a child's imagination? My mother is concerned he has a mental illness. I would really like to hear from others that have knowledge of similar events and get some feedback. Quite frankly I'm freaking out.
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I can tell you're an amazing mom. It sounds like you've done everything you needed to do! It's really hard to tell if what a small child is perceiving is real or not, though it is obviously real to them!
As for the birdies thing- sometimes when you're tired you can begin to 'dream' before you're asleep. It's really classified as a form of hallucination, but it's nothing to be worried about. He might actually really only be seeing birdies but the unnaturalness of it alone can be frightening for a small child, I'm sure.
The 'scary girl' comment does sound a bit menacing admittedly, but it can be along the same line of thought. Small children can be more focused on how somebody is acting (their personality and intent) rather than their physical appearance. The strangeness of the apparition and lack of friendliness from the waking dream might be what's frightening him.
Perhaps he does have a mental illness. I have some experience with young children who are mentally ill but that's very difficult to diagnose in a young child. It's just not very evident. Look for other symptoms such as whispering to himself or playing very unusual games.
Also consider having him do his routine eye checkup and mention this disturbance while you're there.
If it is truly an entity bothering your child then I would suggest trying a few different things to ward off spirits depending on your feelings on the subject.
My suggestion would be introducing a sort of white noise. Not some creepy screechy sound, but something beautiful and relaxing. Secondly a bell. The sort that rings or jingles. Even a chime will do. Something your child can play with preferably.
My most important suggestion is (next time this happens) to ask your child if there is anything you can do to make him feel less afraid. Make sure that you, yourself, do not act like this is bothering you even if it is. He will be much more frightened of the event than he would be otherwise.
That sounds very simple but perhaps there is an object in his room that is the source of the discord. Children are more perceptive than adults in regards to some things.
It might be as simple as removing a poster from the room. Whatever it is, as long as it is within the boundries of reason it doesn't have to make a lot of sense as long as it makes you both feel safer in your own home.
Good luck! ❤ ❤ ❤