How to Help a Child with Recurring Nightmares
Those, who have kids at their house, are well aware of this phenomenon as almost every child of the world gets disturbed with unpleasant dreams called nightmares. They have a propensity to happen during second half of the night when human body enjoys the sweetest part of slumber.
It is directly related to stress which lies deep in the sub conscious of your kid and ultimately keeps him disturb during late night hours. It can be the product of any fear, worry or tension for example; your child watched a scary cartoon character, listened a frightening bedtime story or even minor things like saw a dreadful bull dog in the park.
Mostly, pre-school age is the prime time for these kind of dreams as their imagination has started working, they can plot the story and think of many situations. In many cases, they get so much disturb that they refuse to sleep alone.
However, you should not send them back to beds by saying same old sentences e.g. you are old enough, shame on you, stop watching all those stupid cartoon series etc. This is the time when they need your shelter and you should help them to overcome all those fears.
Instructions
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1
Think with their mind:
You should come at their level and tell them that you completely understand their condition. Give them examples from your own childhood just to make clear that nightmares are bad dreams. All those monsters and fears do not exist in real world. Tell them how you overpowered those fears in childhood. -
2
Inject positive thoughts:
Fill their minds with positive thoughts and images for example; ask them what the best thing of the day was? What they want to see in dreams?
Talk about their favourite super hero who always rescues others in the time of worry. This will relax their nerves and lessen the probability of nightmares. -
3
Turn on the night bulb:
Children are always afraid of darkness and if you are leaving your kid alone in a dark room what else do you expect than a bad dream? Always keep the door open and turn on the light so that he feels secure while going for sleep. -
4
A sleeping partner:
At least give him an imaginary friend who will protect him during nights. It can be anything like a brave lion or teddy bear. Ask your child what kind of guard he wants and then put that next to his bed. -
5
Quick response:
Give him a quick response after he gets disturbed due to nightmare. Make him feel safe and secure by tucking him into bed.
