What to do about nightmares?

[Lisa Espinosa]

My 4 yo dd is a sensitive soul and has been overwhelmed by nightmares for the past six months. The first round came after reading a Dora the Explorer book (The Snow Princess). We've had the talk about imagination, she is in charge of her dreams - done all the tricks - magic dream spray in the room etc. etc. We co-sleep to help her through them but she is very upset by them. We filter her books, she doesn't fancy watching TV but alas she wakes up nightly with no respite. Bach flowers have helped, but only temporarily. Do any of your wise members have any tricks up your sleeve?

[Michele Blue]

a friend of mine has a daughter that has "night terrors" which is something different than "bad dreams" but i wanted to see if perhaps you had researched this in toddlers and young children? Sometimes parents think their child is having nightmares but in fact it is something different.

But if it is the case where she is taking things from the real world that she sees, hears, or reads and translates them into having nightmares - i would suggest slowly introducing her to more things, not less. Often times a child has nightmares because they have an over active imagination and they take full advantage of using their imagination - even while asleep. If you take away all of the real world stimulation that teaches them how to relate to real world happenings (even make believe things like Dora), they tend to make it up on their own and fill in the blanks. It sounds strange and reverse because you think you are protecting them by keeping anything that might scare them away from them - even something as simple as Dora - but kids grow by learning.

Lots of kids have nightmares, as do many adults, so you should understand that the occasional nightmare is perfectly normal, even in a child as young as 4. my child has had a few over the years (she is now 10). We normally start with what triggered it and go from there. Strangely enough, a child might have a nightmare about Dora, but it isn't because they read about Dora, but instead it is because of something else that had upset them during the day before. For example, my daughter had been picked on at school and that night we watched spongebob - a show she had seen several times before - but that night she had a nightmare spongebob was chasing her. It is hard to figure out what might have gone wrong the day before in the life of a 4 year old... but it often helps to track back their previous day. It could be something as simple as getting in trouble. If they get upset by something emotionally, just as we adults do, it can translate to a bad dream at night.

Most often the child will move on in a few days. I know you said it had been 6 months, but i'm not sure if it is an every night occurrence or an occasional one, but i would suggest you look up night terrors in children. i do know that my friend who's child has night terrors has seen a doctor, and they told her to NOT sleep in the bed with the child because the child becomes attached to the parent being there and when you leave and they wake up (even slightly waking up to notice) that could trigger a nightmare to occur when they fall back to sleep. Or it could just cause them to panic and "fake" a nightmare situation in their own minds while they are half asleep and noticing that you are missing.

i am no expert! i would suggest you do research on both nightmares and night terrors and see which one sounds more like your child. If it keeps up for much longer, i would consult your pediatrician. i can only give you the advice that other parents i know have been given by their doctors. You should always seek your own medical advice by your own physician when it comes to your own child.

good luck!
Michele Blue

[jennifer jackman]

You can make or buy a DREAM CATCHER.. .. that is what I did for my son when he was 3yr and was having nightmares. Now he is five and after the first night I hung it up over his bed and explained that it was there to catch the bad dreams. He believed and it worked. Not every child is the same. It worked for him . As children they only understand so much and I think it is something like toothfairy, santa, etc..that the name of it gives them reassurance!

[Summer]

Try keeping the room colder at night.