Were you told not to be afraid of the dark as a child?

Yes. My dad told me that any fear at all was a sign of weakness. Got to the point where I wouldn’t cringe or flinch for anything. He was a cruel man, but to be honest, it really helped in the end.

I’ve never heard of the second saying before. You’re on your own there.

Yeah. My parents taught us (long time ago) that if you’re scared of the dark, then you’re not in right standing with God.
Like if we fear it, then we have sinned in some way.
lmao.

I was kind of smiling because I think people should be scared of the dark!! or at least on guard and not in your houses.

@faye When you walk around down town at night. You cant show fear.

I never feared the dark – I liked it!

@Dr_Lawrence Really? thats good though….how did you approach the dark when you were a child then?

just curious, since I always figure a fear of most children.

the dark was told to be afrain of me.

My Parents told me things to be scared of…o.o
I hate that now, Parents create the fears, not the child…

On the contrary, I was taught from a very early age to embrace the dark. That all consuming cloak of mystery that envelops our souls MWWAAAAA!!!! In me power~

my dad use to make silly jokes about the dark.. and after that I was never afraid and always slept in the dark.

My dad told me I had to stay under the covers in bed or the boogie man would get me if my foot hit the floor in the dark. That back fired. I would wake the whole house hold calling my dad to put my light on if I had to get up and go to the bathroom. Later he admitted he was joking and just made it up. But then I would have nightmares of the grim reaper and that lasted for a few month. Finally, he told me if I prayed at night before bed that nothing would happen to me and my nightmares would stop. And that finally ended it.
As for that kiss your mama told you about she was right. Kiss a man and it goes right through him down to the groin. LOL
My son was never afraid of the dark but then he slept every night from 8pm straight through to 6am since he was a toddler. He was a sound sleeper and never took day naps. My daughter always took an afternoon nap and was always fussy to go to bed and she feared the dark unless I sang her to sleep.
I often wondered if maybe the naps made it difficult for the mind to shut off at night and that is really where childrens nightmares come from.

just as a side issue…there’s a great child’s book called Darkness Slipped In about not being afraid of the dark… it’s lovely!!

I don’t remember being afraid of the dark… but I preferred to sleep with the light on. I made it a rule to always have the lights off at night since my son was born so we’ve never had the lights on and he doesn’t request it (yet?) He’s not afraid of the dark at all, he knows that I will always be either next door or downstairs if he needs me. Of course this might change I don’t’ know… he might begin to be afraid of the dark at some point, but I hope not obviously.

I was afraid to go to sleep. I now know it was because of theat prayer, “Now I lay me down to sleep”. Why tell a kid she might die before she wakes? What the hell kind of concept is that for a four year old?
I never put that one on my kids.

My mother told us that there weren’t any bears near our cabin and that it was safe to wear the porkchop necklaces she made for us ;))

I was afraid of mummies for some reason…. I am not now though.

All the time. I think it’s a natural and primitive human response to be afraid of the dark. A persons sight and therefore safety is compromised because of our inability to see potential threats or dangers. Even when we know at home we’re safe in the dark our innate fear still exists.

I was taught that any show of fear was unmanly. I wasn’t specifically afraid of the dark, but of anything I couldn’t see. My grandfather taught me how to see better in the dark, by not looking straight at what you are trying to see. Your periforal vision has better receptors for low light conditions. Once I learned those skills, I actually liked darkness.

I think it’s natural to be afraid of the dark. I used to trick my kids so I wouldn’t have to leave the overhead light burning in their room. When they were all tucked in I’d flip the light off and they’d holler. I’d say, “Hang on!” and go turn on the light in another room so that a little light would spill into their bed room. That satisfied them. Worked every time.
If I’d had both lights on to begin with, and flipped off their room light, they would have still protested, even though the light in the other room was on. They had to have a few secs of really dark to appreciate the bit of light that DID come into their room a few seconds later.

I was never afraid of the dark. My parents did tell me lots of things though:
– Don’t leave the house without money.
– Always have ID on you.
– Never admit you are alone in your home to a stranger.
– Lock everything; car and where you live.
– Check the backseat of your car before getting in.
– It is harder to lose weight than never gain it.
– Only use Royal Dark and Sweet pudding in a chocolate pie.
– Flat hair makes my nose look longer and bigger – ugh.
– Exercise every day.
– Coke is the real thing!
– Turn off the lights if you are not in the room.
– Don’t waste.
– Clean up after yourself.

My children never feared the dark either! Maybe living up north where at some times of the year it gets dark at 16:00 and is still dark at 07:00 the next day, darkness is a normal part of the day, fear of the dark is less of an issue. Just a hunch.

@Dr_Lawrence Never thought of that. I tend to think it doesn’t work like that since our homes are still lit up, I would assume the OP was talking about going to bed at night, and not walking around outside in the dark? My sister didn’t like to have all of the lights off, we used to leave the hall light on for her.

no. because everyone knew that i wasn’t afraid of the dark, but that i embraced it with out stretched and open arms.

Thanks everyone!