Nightmares

[mom-in-alberta]

My 4 yr old daughter has both nightmares and night terrors (which have happened in the middle of the day, while she was asleep in the van. While we were driving!! Holy crud, that was awful).
They seem to be getting better. I like all the above suggestions. A nice warm bath to unwind goes a long way, too.
We talked to her about hitting the `stop `button DURING the dream. I don`t know how much that has helped. I also taught her to sing a song if she wakes up afraid. We chose Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. We told her to sing it quietly to herself, and that way she will know that she is ok, it was just a dream and that she has control. It`s like a touchpoint for her.

[jec]

I have suggested to clients in this position is to make a 'dream catcher' with their child, talk about what dreams ARE and how the dream catchers job is to catch the 'scary images' before they enter our dreams but if one 'slips by' its ok you do not have to be scared you just tell it in your dream 'you are not suppose to be here go away' and that will alert the catcher to come take it away again.

Part of my culture is Native Indian and she has one proudly hanging from her bed. Thanks for the other suggestions Reggio. I never talked to her about just telling them to go away. Simple and might just help. Thanks!

[Dreamalittledream]

Something that worked for us is "ghostbusters" spray...we put water in a spray can and some lavender (you can use anything that has a scent). We would spray each area of his room every night and it worked immediately!

[MarthaHPieperPhD]

I am an experienced child therapist and came across your discussion about nightmares. In my experience, once children calm down from the bad dream, parents can help by explaining that "dreams are stories we tell ourselves for a reason -- we just have to understand the reason." Then parents can think with them about upsetting events that occurred the previous day that might have caused the bad dream. Typical experiences that can cause bad dreams are: fights with siblings or friends; getting in trouble at home or school; losing something important; being ill and having to stay home, etc. To facilitate this process of helping children understand their bad dreams, I have written a children's book coming out in April of 2012 entitled Mommy, Daddy, I Had a Bad Dream! for ages three and up (www.mommydaddyihadabaddream.com).

[jec]

I am an experienced child therapist and came across your discussion about nightmares. In my experience, once children calm down from the bad dream, parents can help by explaining that "dreams are stories we tell ourselves for a reason -- we just have to understand the reason." Then parents can think with them about upsetting events that occurred the previous day that might have caused the bad dream. Typical experiences that can cause bad dreams are: fights with siblings or friends; getting in trouble at home or school; losing something important; being ill and having to stay home, etc. To facilitate this process of helping children understand their bad dreams, I have written a children's book coming out in April of 2012 entitled Mommy, Daddy, I Had a Bad Dream! for ages three and up (www.mommydaddyihadabaddream.com).

I'm pre-ordering my copy!
Thanks for replying Martha and I'll be sure to post your book on my fb and spread the word that you stepped up to give some advice.