10/21/2016 | News release | Archived content
There is nothing more heartbreaking (and frustrating) than a child who is too scared to sleep because of something that happened in a dream. As parents, we have all been there: it's the middle of the night and you're awoken by a little tap on your shoulder, you open your eyes only to find your little one standing by your bed shaken and crying from a nightmare.
We all have nightmares from time to time, but they tend to occur more in children, peaking between the ages of 3- and 8-years-old. Nightmares commonly begin in preschoolers as this is when children naturally start developing fears and their imaginations start to become more active.
Initially, your child's bad dreams may stem from her newly developed fears and these creepy creatures start to crawl their way into her dreams. As she gets a little older and starts to grasp real-life threats, such as car accidents and death, you may see her dreams become more realistic, reflecting some of these newly discovered dangers and therefore, becoming scarier to her.
As adults, we know that there is a difference between dreams and reality. But I'm sure you remember a nightmare from your childhood that really frightened you. We have to remember that to children nightmares can feel all too real and we need to be patient when we are awoken by an emotional child at 4 a.m. Here are a few tips for helping your little boy or girl cope with a bad dream and some tricks for scaring nightmares away.
Here are a few ways you can help your child sleep better and longer by mitigating the effects of night-time terrors.
These things aren't guaranteed to work every time. Sometimes a dream may seem too real and bring up some legitimate fears that your child doesn't understand. Remember to be patient and know that eventually sound sleep will come again.