9 Year Old Son Having Problems Sleeping, Afraid of Noices??

Its a normal part of his development. He is starting to project and think of what MIGHT happen, which is good. The bad part is he is worried about bad things happening to him. I am 67 and still remember when I was worried that someone would break into my room. I was about 10 and my dad gave me a baseball bat to keep by my bed. I remember checking to see it was there and was able to sleep. What I cant remember was when it was no longer there. My parents must have realized I no longer needed it at some point and took it away.
Talk to your son, if you have a dog, tell him rover will bark if someone breaks in. If not get some sort of alarm or 'weapon' so he will feel secure. Also have a conversation with him about what is real and what is pretend on tv and the movies. Most kids this age know Santa Claus is make believe but think the Power Rangers are real.

My son went through the same thing at your son's age. He was afraid someone was going to break into the house and hurt us. It could have been something he heard on tv. We stopped watching the news when the kids were around. I would try to talk to him and find out what his fears are and if there is anything that attributed to his fear. I know this is not the best thing to do but we had a portable intercom so I put one on his nightstand and told him it was an alarm and it worked. He is now 24 and I told him a few years ago what I did we had a laugh and moved on. I know it was a lie but I really did not know how else to reassure him that no one would break into our home. His fear was very real. It could also be going back to school. I would get so anxious before school started I would have trouble sleeping also. I know how hard it is to see your kids hurting but it will pass. Good luck!!

If it just happened recently, try to find out source of fear so you can attack the source. Is it a monster from a movie or a book he saw? Or is he scared of a noise a friend made? Did he see something on tv? Talk to him and mostly let him tell you what scared him + you tell him its ok to be scared. Ask what would help him feel dtronger? A white noise machine that blocks scary noises? Singing a song? A magic quilt atany blanket u give him)?

Watch dvd good night moon. One scene is about a scary monster in closet and what a boy does about it.

He needs some extra bedtime routines for reassurance then will get back to normal again. He just needs to be reminded that everyone's scared of something but happy thoughts don't let scary ones in!!

Perhaps it's a bit of back to school anxiety, or fear after something he saw on t.v. or some news story he heard about?
At his age, I'd let him sleep with the door open, allow him a flashlight, light on in the hallway, stay on the same floor/within hearing distance of him but he has to fall asleep within a reasonable period of time.
Good luck

I think 9 must be the age of anxiety. I had to monitor reading material and tv shows for a good 2 months because he was afraid of aliens (thanks Ben-10) and strange noises. We made sure we read something funny or non-scary with him each night and then stayed with him for 10 minutes 'identifying' the noises in the dark.

Hope you all get some sleep soon.

MK

Ask your pediatrician