History of the monster under the bed

-

The History Of That Monster Under The Bed



What is the monster under the bed?

If you have children, there’s a good chance you’ve had to deal with issues surrounding the scary monsters under the bed. You may even remember fearing said monster when you were younger. The monster under the bed is a fear for many children, and is now so synonymous with childhood that it has carved a strong niche in popular culture. We take a look at where the concept came from and speak to child psychologist Dr Laura Kauffman about why it’s such a cause of fear for children.


History of the monster under the bed

The scary monsters under the bed is a variation of the bogeyman which has existed for centuries, in various guises, all around the world. It is likely that the bogeyman legend originated simply as a behaviour deterrent for children. For example, if a child doesn’t go to bed then they might be told that the bogeyman will ‘get them’. Not exactly grade-A parenting, but a common technique nonetheless, and one that is no doubt still used.

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. Many Latin countries have the Sack Man, who takes misbehaving children away in a sack. France has le croquet-mitaine (the hand-cruncher), and Belgium has Ode Roge Oden which translates as ‘Old Red Eyes.’

Why are children afraid?

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. Part of that frame of reference comes from a child’s parents. If the child is told something is scary, they will likely believe it.

Fear of monsters under the bed, similar to nightmares, start between four and five years old as a child’s imagination becomes more vivid and they start to understand more abstract concepts, such as fear, but still have trouble distinguishing fact from fantasy.

Dr Kauffman believes this fear comes from a lack of understanding of the world around them and their quickly-expanding imagination:

Is it an evolutionary issue?

There is a theory that 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. 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. If you buy into this theory, these predators are the origins of our bogeyman.

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.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Who is the Most Documented Person in History?

-
Image
 Who is the most documented person in history? This question has no easy answer, and perhaps, no conclusive one, either. Even some of the most controversial persons may be overshadowed by other seemingly inconspicuous ones. In this post, we take a close look at some of the most documented people in history in an attempt to decide who is the most documented. Read on to find the surprising conclusion at the end! Who is the Most Documented Person in History? 1. Don Talayesva Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/chaparralbrad/3275685140/in/photostream/ Don Talayesva (1890-1985) was a Hopi American Indian who wrote his autobiography in conjunction with an anthropologist from Yale University, Leo Simmons. Talayesva was born in Old Oraibi, Arizona with the name Chuka. Until the age of ten, he was brought up in the traditional Hopi way. Later, he spent ten years exposed to European culture, and later returned to the Hopi way of life. In the field of anthropology, Don Talayesva was considered
Read more

What are the similarities between ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia.

-
Image
 How similar was Mesopotamia to Ancient Egypt? Overview q Students will be expected to explain how and why humans made the transition from small Neolithic villages to the first large scale complex societies located in Mesopotamia, Egypt, South Asia, China, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Mexico. q Emphasis should be placed on how the climate and geography shaped the government, economy (including trade and agriculture), and cultural features (including religion, social class, language and the arts). q Students  should be able to note similarities and differences in the development and characteristics of each civilization.  § Further, students are expected to explain how these societies changed over time as a result of interactions with neighboring civilizations.  Mesopotamian & Egyptian Society q Mesopotamian and Egyptian civilizations developed in substantially different environments.  § While both civilizations developed in fertile river valleys rich with silt f
Read more

Delhi Durbar

-
Image
 Definition The Delhi Durbar was a spectacular public event held in India to commemorate the accession of a new British monarch to the title Empress or Emperor of India. Three Delhi Durbars were held: 1877, 1903, and 1911. The event involved military processions, elephants, and magnificent carriages, as well as a host of rulers of the Indian princely states paying homage to the British Crown in recognition of its sovereignty over large parts of the subcontinent. Queen Victoria (r. 1837-1901) did not attend the 1877 Delhi Durbar in person but was represented by the viceroy. Similarly, in the 1903 durbar, another viceroy represented King Edward VII (r. 1900-1910). The 1911 durbar was the most spectacular of all as King George V (r. 1910-1936) attended the event in person.                                                                                    DELHI DURBAR 1911                                                                                    Photo source unknown The Durbar Tra
Read more