Bad dreams and Nightmares?

Question

My 7 years old is scared to go to sleep - he always has nightmares. Any tricks to get rid of these bad dreams?

Answer 1

my 5 and 6 yo girls go through this..or did. What I did was buy some dollar store lysol, it's something I didn't use often, so the scent was unfamiliar to them. I covered it with construction paper and put Monster and Nightmares Be Gone Spray! Every night before they went to bed, we read a calming book, and brushed our teeth, then we went back into their room. I would ask, where do you think the nightmares are coming from. They'd point to the closet, under the bed, behind the door, behind the curtains. SO I sprayed litely in these areas. Then we'd say our little rhyme to make it work. " Rainbows and Stars, GOOD dreams are ours. Smile and sing, all good things we bring." It worked EVERY time. It takes time, but it works. Another thing I've used in a pinch is a new empty spray bottle, fill with water and add a couple drops of red or orange food coloring. I mix it while they are in the tub if I've forgotten to do it before they come home. With my girls they also had "good dream wands" (dress up princess wands) they slept with, so if they woke up and felt a bad dream was there, they could wave it and it would banish the dream forever. For my son we used a cheapy plastic sword. I know sounds silly but it worked. lol..lol. I still have them ask for the special spray once in awhile. they liked the smell..lol..lol. Trick is you have to really sell it, and you have to let them know you believe and KNOW it will work. Chances are he's been playing hard, or having a tough day at school. It's normal for kids to go through this stage.

Answer 2

First - is he having nightmares or night terrors? Nightmares happen during dream sleep and kids wake up (sometime with one yell or scream) and can remember parts of the dream or in general what was scaring him. Night terrors happen AFTER dream sleep and the child will look awake with eyes open, sitting or standing and yelling or screaming. The child is not truly awake and when they are truly awakened the yelling/screaming stops and they very rarely remember anything. A very few do remember a feeling of unease or fear.

If he is having nightmares are they new (weeks or months) or has he had them for a very long time (years)?

If they are new there are a few things that can contribute to nightmares:
Disrupted sleep schedule - has he been getting less sleep than he had in the past or has his bedtime or waking time changed? If the nightmares started around this time try to get him more sleep and have him go to bed and wake at the same time of day - even on the weekends. It may take a few days to see a change.

Has he started learning something new or started a new activity/sport? If so his brain may be working overtime in his sleep working through all of this information.

Does he play video games before bed? Video games stimulate/activate the brain and there is not enough time for the brain to calm down for sleep. Playing video games can cause nightmares, increase sleepwalking, or cause restless sleep (lots of tossing and turning).

He may be concerned about something and not fully realize it, or he may not have mentioned it to you. See if there are any issues at school, home, or with friends. Something that may not seem like much may be enough to trigger something in his dreams.

If the nightmares are old, you may have a budding artist. Doctors do not know why, but children good in art tend to have more nightmares, especially reoccurring ones.

In either case, come up with a routine to help calm him before bed. With my eldest we would 'sweep' his room to be sure there were no 'bad men' and then set up a guard at his window and door of his meanest and best stuffies.

If it is night terrors, be calm, reassure him and try to gently awaken him. Once awake the terror immediately stops and he should calm quickly if not immediately.

To reduce or break the cycle of night terrors, try to wake him up BEFORE the time that he usually has a night terror. This is thought to interrupt or alter the sleep cycle and prevent night terrors from occurring (it also works for sleepwalking). Our youngest started at 1 with night terrors and when we did this the terrors were GREATLY reduced.

In either case it's hard on you too - take care - you all will do great!

Answer 3

Yes, My 4 year old has night terrors. Even sleep walks some nights but I was 7 days a week waking to him screaming out of fear. Now it may only be one or two nights. No food or drinks an hour before bed. At 90 min of sleep the child falls in to a state of rem ( rapid eye movement) this means the child is in an active state of dreaming. this is the best time to wake your child briefly then put him/ or her back to sleep calm and peaceful this can really help limit the amount of night terrors the child has. Also speak with your health care provider to shine some light on the subject.
If you type in night terrors in your search engine you will be amazed what you will learn about sleep and children. Good luck my drear.

Answer 4

If my daughter wakes up with bad dreams, I tell her to tell me what the dream was all about. Then we take the scariest parts of the dream and we make them positive- often making up a happy ending to the dream. It is almost like we "re-write the part of the dream that scared her the most and we talk through it. We usually make it funny and end up laughing. Turning one major feeling (fear) into another feeling (humor) and have it make more of an impact is important. That way she can go to sleep laughing about the dream instead of fearing sleeping. I really dont give her the option of whether she goes back to bed or not. I will sit with her for a little while, reassure her that I will be across the hallway and she can call me if she needs me. She usually doesnt

Answer 5

You got some pretty good answers to your ? . I would add that you pray over your child too...Prayer is very powerful & the most loving thing a parent can do for their child.
Read "Power of a praying parent" by Stormie Omartian. I refer to it many times. God hears our prayers and that bring me so much joy, love & peace.
If you ever need to get some free Godly counselling go to
www.doersoftheword.org
The pastor there has a toll free # you can call if you're in the U.S. or you can send email.

Psalm127:3
3 Children are a gift from the Lord;
they are a reward from him.

Answer 6

it depends on why he is having these nightmares--is he doing something new lately? Is he going through some new stress at school or with his friends..nightmares are usually a symptom of something that is happening in someone's life--First look at what is happening in his life...Maybe let him come into your bed and sleep with you for awhile--sometimes this is very reassuirng to kids...or sleep with him in his bed...If you are religious--you can do a prayer ritual for preotection at night--adn if you are not--you can still do some kind of ritual--saying--okay--now we are going to ask the Universe to protect us--etc--kids have vivid imaginations and this might help--In general--create a peaceful atmosphere for him before he sleeps--no noise or distractions--no tv--especially violent shows--no cartoons...keep him away from chaotic things--and try to do this in general--bring peace into his life--you could light a candle or incense and tll him you are creating a peaceful atmosphere so that he can now have a wonderful, peaceful sleep--etc...read him a happy story...Good Luck:) If it persists--take him to a child psychologist...

Answer 7

He really needs to be in bed early enough. If he is getting overtired, he will sleep fitfully, with nightmares.