When the limbic system is in this hyper-alert phase, we are prone to perceive threats inВ instances where none exists.вЂ™ The more primitive part of our brain, theВ limbic system, is focused upon looking out for signs of trouble, and I believe that it is on hyper-alert when it is dark and vision is poor. I think, as humans, we are troubled and startled by the dark because we cannot see well. вЂNight timeВ triggers a lot ofВ fearsВ in children (and adults, for that matter). Professor Gray says that we now have an evolutionary mismatch, where factors that shaped our behaviour thousands of years ago no longer apply to the modern day environment.Дr Kauffman suggests there might be some weight to this theory:

If you buy into this theory,В these predators are the origins of our bogeyman. The theory belongs to Peter Gray, professor of psychology at Boston University, and comes from our hunter-gatherer days where children would fear bedtime because of the threat of wild animals. There is a theorythat suggests that the bogeyman and monster under the bed are (or were) very real indeed and that our fear is a natural evolution toward this threat. It can also stem from separation anxiety вЂ“ being away from mum and dad at night вЂ“ which is why hopping into their bed will usually stop nightmares, although parents should be wary of thisВ as your child could become too dependent on thisВ and refuse to sleep in their own bed. As children enter their primary schoolВ years, they develop the cognitive skills and ability to imagine such things as scary monsters,В and their fears of the dark get projected onto the caricature of the bogeyman.вЂ™ вЂChildren donвЂ™t have years of experience coping with such sounds at night and mastering the art of falling asleep, so they areВ particularly susceptible to signs or indicators of threat at night. If the child is told something is scary, they will likely believe it.ДЇear of monsters under the bed, similar to nightmares,В start between four and five years oldВ as a childвЂ™sВ imagination becomes more vivid and they start to understand more abstract concepts, such as fear, but still have trouble distinguishing fact from fantasy.Дr Kauffman believes this fear comes from a lack of understanding of the world around them and their quickly-expanding imagination: Part of that frame of reference comes from a childвЂ™s parents. The world is a scary place for children, absolutely everything they see and hear is new at one point and they have to learn whether it poses a threat or not. Image by Eric Proctor Why are children afraid? Related: Monster Mash: Negating Night-time Fears France has le croquet-mitaine (the hand-cruncher), and BelgiumВ has Ode Roge OdenВ which translates as вЂOld Red Eyes.вЂ™ Many Latin countries have the Sack Man, who takes misbehaving children away in a sack. You might be surprised at just how many countries and cultures have their own iteration of the bogeyman, some of which are incredibly inventive and really quite scary. Not exactly grade-A parenting, but a common technique nonetheless, and one that is no doubt still used. For example, if a child doesnвЂ™t go to bed then they might be told that the bogeyman will вЂget themвЂ™. It is likely that the bogeyman legend originated simply as a behaviour deterrent for children. The scary monsters under the bed is a variation of the bogeyman which has existed for centuries, in various guises, all around the world. We take a look at where the concept came from and speakВ to child psychologist Dr Laura Kauffman about why itвЂ™s such a cause of fear for children. The monster under the bed is a fear for many children, and is nowВ so synonymous with childhood that it has carved a strongВ niche in popular culture. You may even remember fearing said monster when you were younger. If you have children, thereвЂ™s a good chance youвЂ™ve had to deal with issues surrounding the scary monsters under the bed.

Sims 3 monster under the bed