Reason #374 I do Not Let my Kid "Cry It Out"

Presley is 2 1/2 years old. He sleeps just fine almost every night, with no issues.
Last night we went to a birthday party and the kids all got worn out...they were exhausted. I put them all down to bed and proceeded to do laundry. Presley and Ethan kept playing instead of sleeping, so I put Pres in our bed to sleep. Typically if he is in our bed he goes right to sleep, no problem. But last night he was crying and crying and he kept saying," dinosaur bite me!!!!" and pointing to nothing. I tried and tried to reassure him that there were no dinos in the house, but he was terrified. Now, a typical CIO person might have suggested that he just did not want to go to sleep so he was stalling by creating a diversion....and I should just walk out of the room and let him cry. Uuummm, thanks but no thanks. I do not let my kids cry it out. Parenting does not end at night....there are no "parenting hours". Some say that if the kid crosses that time then they need to just learn to get over it on their own. Not me.
So I went in there...again...and decided to lay down with him to help calm him down and help him get to sleep....the laundry could wait, this is my baby. I laid on the bed with him and starting singing his favorite song...and he kept crying. That is not normal. He was really scared. I held him in my arms and he was STILL terrified! What was the deal? As I was trying to calm him down I glanced at the ceiling....and there, in the middle of my ceiling, was a HUGE shadow that looked, no kidding, just like a dinosaur!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was the reflection of what Josiah was watching downstairs on TV. Little Presley had been staring at this "dino" and was scared he was about to be dinner!
So what if I had let him cry? What if I thought he was "disobeying" by not going to sleep and I ignored his cries for me? Poor kid would be warped. He would not trust that his mommy would be there for him and comfort him when he was scared. Doesn't our Heavenly Father come to us at any time/hour when we are hurting, scared or just lonely? Does He not comfort us...even if we just want His presence? I take that as an example and do the same with my little ones...and teach them that when I am not there, their Savior is there and He will be their comfort.