my 3yr old daughter has just had one.
don't worry shes not sat crying in a corner while i get advice!
she is back in bed fast asleep, but not until i'd been round the whole house to show her there were no monsters present and told her that mummy is here to protect her and won't let them in it was just her mind tricking her.
i was just wondering how other people deal with it.
2007-03-15 12:41:44 · 13 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Toddler & Preschooler
My little girl is five years old now and she has always liked unicorns and flowers. When she wakes up with a nightmare we talk about it if she wants to, but if not we agree to have a nice dream. We lay in her bed and I whisper to her the dream I want her to have for me. Usually her dream stories are like this.
Tonight's dream will be in a beautiful field full of purple flowers. If you look into the distance you can see a lovely unicorn with a sparkling pink horn. There are butterflies on most of the flowers and the sun is so warm you just want to lay in the middle of the field all day.
Then I will add small details like that she is wearing her favorite shoes or that her teddy is with her. Usually by the time I get through setting the scene she is out like a light. She always gets up the next morning and fills me in on what I missed while she was sleeping. She enjoys this and it really chases the monsters from her mind.
2007-03-16 06:00:01 · answer #1 · answered by thegarzas1861 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Mine has a thing with giants. I always tell her that giants live in Hollywood. So i'll remind her that they could never come to our home because Hollywood is so far away and it was only a dream and not real. Then i suggest to her something nice to dream of. One of her favourites is the farm. It's a working dairy farm she knows well from visits. I'll encourage her to dream of the different things see has seen and heard and felt there going right into it making sounds and describing textures. She usually falls asleep as i talk.
Other times she just wants a cuddle and i always tell her that i am not going out and i will only be in my bedroom and so will daddy.
Sometimes it's easier than others though. She goes through period of regularly waking up too. about 3 or 4 times a night. Then I choose the easy option and just get in bed with her. She'll be 4 late June.
2007-03-15 18:40:51 · answer #2 · answered by Part Time Cynic 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
My daughter is 3. I start off by hugging her and calming her down. Then I tell her that there are NO monsters in our house because "its not allowed". Then I tell her that she should yell as loud as she wants at the monsters that they are not allowed in our house and have to stay outside or go somewhere else (that makes her feel as if she "the power" to make the monsters go away). Then I pat her back and let her know that I won't let anyone or anything bother her and for her to go to sleep. Sometimes I even say a prayer or two out loud and she says "amen" and then she goes to sleep.
I've even gotten her to talk about things that make her happy to help her to "forget" about her nightmare. I'll tell her to talk to me about her birthday party, or places she likes to visit (the zoo, the park, etc.) and then she's happy and soon starts to slur her speech-meaning that she is getting drowsy and she soon falls asleep. I always leave her nightlight on too-my house gets pretty dark at night so I want her to feel comforted knowing that she can see should she need to wake up and/or come to me. Good luck!
2007-03-15 13:44:00 · answer #3 · answered by True Hija De Oshun! 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
When my little girl has night mares, I tell her that the street light is a monster repellent. So no monsters can come anywhere the street light shines. Then we get a glass of water and a good night kiss. She always falls back to sleep fine. I know one day she will realize I am telling a fib. But for now it makes her feel better to think that there is a magic light to keep monsters away.
2007-03-15 12:54:49 · answer #4 · answered by Kimmie 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
When they awake, a gentle rhyme
A tish kah tosh ka tish ka tay
bad dream bad dream
fly away
A tish kah tosh ka tish ka tak
bad dream bad dream
don't come back
We also have a teddy tucked down the side of the bed to help keep the bad dreams away and a guard penguin at the door
If your child thinks they see things, laughing at them helps lighten the mood and a good way to do that is to throw teddies at them!
2007-03-15 22:30:57 · answer #5 · answered by Em 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
been a long time since i had to do this but, i installed a night light and laid in their beds to remove shadows that i saw, i also gave them a tape with their fave nursery rhymes/ songs to send them of to sleep. If they had a nightmare after that and came and woke me, I would take them back to bed and talk to them about the latest good times and told them to keep them in their head as they went to sleep. Worked for me and my four our a lot older now x
2007-03-15 12:56:00 · answer #6 · answered by squawinpants 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Horses for courses. You know your child better than anyone else, you obviously knew the right thing to do, otherwise she wouldn't be fast asleep now! Well done.
2007-03-15 12:45:06 · answer #7 · answered by jet-set 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
u could get her a night light . my wee girl usually goes back to sleep after i lie and cuddle her for 5 mins if she wakes up with a bad dream - ask her what she is dreaming about and see if she is watching some tv programs that are scaring her and try to avoid what it is that is scaring her - good luck
2007-03-16 02:25:50 · answer #8 · answered by fabbymummy 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Normally...just lay down in bed with them to reassure them and hug them until they fall asleep again.
2007-03-15 12:54:57 · answer #9 · answered by Afi 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
That's about it. Show her around so she sees that there's no bus around ready to run over her, or whatever she had the nightmare about. As she gets older, talking about it can substitute for showing her.
2007-03-15 12:51:23 · answer #10 · answered by The First Dragon 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋