TinyStepper
Child pressing colourful stickers onto paper with tissue paper and glue

Daylight Monster Drawing

Draw the scary thing from a bad dream in daylight — give it a silly hat, googly eyes, a small bottom — then crumple the drawing up together. Makes the monster controllable instead of terrifying.

Activity details

2y–4y12 minslowindoorCrayonsPaper

Instructions

Get ready
  • Sit at the table in bright daylight with paper and crayons.
  • Ask: 'Tell me what the scary thing in your dream looked like.'
  1. Sit at the table in bright daylight with paper and crayons.
  2. Ask: 'Tell me what the scary thing in your dream looked like.'
  3. Start drawing it as your child describes — go big and clear.
  4. Add a silly detail: 'Should we give it a hat? What kind?' Let your child choose.
  5. Add another silly bit: googly eyes, tiny feet, a polka-dot bum.
  6. Step back and look together. 'It looks pretty silly now, doesn't it?'
  7. Crumple the drawing into a tight ball with your child.
  8. Together, decide what to do with it — bin it, hide it, give it a 'goodbye flush'.

Parent tip

Set out crayons and paper before inviting your toddler in so the first minute feels smooth.

Proud child holding up a painted sheet covered in bright handprints and splatters

What success looks like

Messy hands and a child who doesn’t want to stop. The artwork doesn’t need to look like anything — the process is the point.

If your toddler keeps mentioning a scary monster from a dream, sit at the table in bright daylight and draw it together. Make it big and obvious — but also slightly ridiculous. Add a silly hat, googly eyes, a tiny bottom. Then together, crumple the drawing into a ball and decide what to do with it — chuck it in the recycling bin, flush it, hide it in a drawer. The act of making the scary thing first visible and then disposable transfers control from the dream-monster to your toddler.

Why it helps

NHS guidance on managing children's fears emphasises the power of giving the fear a concrete, physical form so the child can process it — abstract scary feelings stay abstract and frightening, but a drawn monster becomes a thing the child can look at, judge, and dispose of. The shift from invisible threat to visible drawing recruits the child's growing sense of agency and humour, both of which dampen the fear response far more effectively than verbal reassurance alone.

Variations

  • Use coloured pencils or paint instead of crayons for variety.
  • Draw the scary thing being chased away by a small thing (your child, a ladybird, a mouse).
  • Take a photo of the silly version before crumpling, so it can be looked at again on a later anxious day.

Safety tips

  • Don't draw the scary thing if your child resists — they may not be ready to look at it directly.
  • Keep the silly additions warm rather than mocking; the dream felt real and shame would backfire.
  • Avoid this on the same night as the dream — wait at least until the following day.

Want to try another?

Bottle Goodbye Drawing

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