Let her sleep in her room with a light on?

I was afraid of the dark until I was 9. My mom let me sleep with the light on in my room. It was preferable to me showing up in her bed every night. My mom didn't make a big deal of it. Have you asked your daughter why she doesn't like the dark? It could be that she doesn't like the layout of her room or maybe she doesn't like waking up in the dark + quiet. (I was also allowed to have a radio.) My whole problem was my overactive imagination at that age.

You have my sympathy, craniac. I totally understand how disruptive that can be. But I'm with the kitten, why can't you just let her sleep with a light? My five year old sleeps in dim light with music playing. It seems to do the trick.

What they said. Nightlights work wonders for overactive imaginations. Just make sure you don't turn it off after they fall asleep, as it defeats the whole purpose. My parents never seemed to understand that part.

I think fluffy battle kitten is right on the money. I also had an over active imagination at that age and slept with a radio under my pillow. It's really just a distraction but it works.

She has a three year old sister who also sleeps in the room. I gave her a headlamp last night but it didn't seem to do the trick. We'll figure something out...

Have you talked to her about what it is she fears? And do you take her seriously? It's easy for adults to say there are no bogeymen, monsters in the closet, or monsters under the bed. It's not the same when you're young.

Is your daughter anxious about other things? Is something in her life, like the passing of a relative, making her feel insecure?

Magic may help. When one of my kids was plagued by recurring nightmares I nailed a magic potato to the wall. It dried and hung there for more then a year. It worked wonderfully. The key is they must know you believe so that they can believe.

Along the lines of arse_hat's suggestion: I've babysat for kids where the parents gave them a spray bottle full of "monster poison" (plain water).

Yeah, give her a monster gun of some kind. In desperation with my son, we used the garlic press: you just hold it and work the handle back and forth vigorously and it gives off magic anti monster vibes. Monsters hate garlic: it is a well known fact. It sounds totally dumb but I swear to you it worked like the charm that it is and there were several times I'd wake up at night to the sound of the garlic press being clanged noisily and then there would be blessed silence. I'd also go with a nightlight; they have so many cool cute ones nowadays that are totally cheap and both girls will probably like it.

She's a really smart six year-old, and that is not just parental boasting, so I don't know if a monster gun would work but there may be another placebo device I can use--perhaps an ultrasonic vermin repeller (that will drive out anything besides people, implying monsters without her having to articulate them), a mini led flashlight and instructions on using my ipod. Heck, I'll give her the portable dvd player and headphones!

I gave her a pep talk, did some relaxation breathing and guided visualization, then gave her some monster spray and my ipod, along with a headlamp.

Probably overkill, but we'll see how it goes tonight.

Ha! She used the "monster spray" before going to bed last night and listened to my ipod, and not a peep! Awesome!

That is excellent news!