Things that go bump in the night

    I forgot to post my blog entry last night before I shut my computer down for the day. My plan was to get up early and do a little work and get my blog post up. But Ally (my 5-year-old) was up most of the night with a sore ear, so my plans were changed. She ended up spending the night with me in our bed so I could keep an eye on her. When she woke this morning (ear feeling better but we are still heading to the doctor to check it out) she said, "Do you know what was the best part of sleeping in your room? There are no monsters in your room." For a while we have been battling the monsters that live in her ceiling fan and that only come out at night. I've tried the reasonable approach to getting rid of the monsters (showing her the ins and outs of the fan and that there is nothing living in there) and I've tried to get creative (buying air freshener "monster spray" and spraying it in her room to get rid of the monsters) but apparently it's not working. I thought it was because she hadn't mentioned the monsters for a while, they were no longer bothering her (although she still sleeps on the edge of her bed because the monsters can't see her there).

    So I am stumped. The pediatrician said as she gets older and is able to reason, she'll see that there are no monsters in her room, I just hate to wait that long and hate the fact that she doesn't feel safe in her bed at night. How do I get rid of the monsters in her room? Any suggestions on what worked for you?