Nightmares - Spokane,WA

S.,

Here is a trick that I used with my son and so far it is working like a charm. Get her a dream catcher. You can find them anywhere you find American Indian accessories. The myth behind them is that they are put over an infants crib to filter out the bad dreams. Tell her the story and put it over her bed. It's a mind of matter deal. If she thinks it really works she will sleep well. If she is playing you then she knows that is not an excuse she can use anymore.

Hope this helps and good luck

L. C
Personal Nutritionist
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Hello my husband and I were haveing the same problems with our 5yr old grandson, we would fine him on the sofa or under talbe sleeping. He would start out in his bed and get up when everybody was sleeping. He would say monsters are comning. So I wanted to ease his fear and we heard through this talk show get a spray bottle and fill it with water and tell the kids we are going to scare away the monsters. And spray the water and show them that you are takeing charge and no more fear and that it's ok for them to go to sleep in their room. Hope this helps, my little guy has been sleeping in his room and when we wake up i tell him how proud i am of him for sleeping in his bed.

R.

Hi sara well my daughter is 6 right now she said she started having nightmares a couple of months ago and wouldn't go to sleep, she will tell me she was scared, so my mom told me to read her a story and then pray with her then I would kiss her goodnight turn on her nightlite, and a couple of mintues she was asleep and she's doesn't have them anymore. I really hope this will help you out.

I.

Hi S.:

I cant say for sure what the problem is but...Sleep is a funny thing. She may have a sleep disorder and going thru an unusual spell. Does anyone in your family have sleep disorders? It tends to run in the family. I have sleep disorders. I sleep walk/talk. Have vivid dreams and nightmares. Over the past few years I have developed insomnia (this one really sucks) Occasionally I will have night terrors (usually if i am ill or really stressed). All of my 3 children (now grown) have one form or another of sleep problems. My daughter growing up had horrible night terrors. She would be kicking screaming and crying. She would appear to be fully awake but really was not. It took her forever, at times, to snap out of it. One of my sons sleep walks/talks and the other just talks in his sleep. My fiance doesnt dream AT ALL (which i find to be peculiar) And he thinks me and my kids are just weird. So anyways, the situation with your daughter is probably not serious. Just one of those funny things our mind does while we sleep. I would suggest looking up a website on sleep disorders and see if anything there matches what your daughter is going thru.

Good luck with your situation, T.

S. i dont know if your religious or not but try a bed time prayer with her everynight, also try a radio! play soft music maybe classical or nature sounds. next leave a night ligh on that always helps. good luck!

When I was young, I had a similar experience. Truth be told, I had a mini lamp that my parents allowed me to keep on whenever I was frightened. My mother would also explain why I didn't need to be afraid and always told me the same "happy story" to put my mind on something else. I STILL think of that story and find comfort! Hope that helps!

Hi S.,

Is she eating or drinking something right before bedtime? This may be the cause. I am not an expert though, you may want to consult with your pediatrician on this; many times they can find other issues that could be causing the nightmares. Also, it could be a matter of making sure she has a nightlight and her door is open a bit. My 8 year old still likes to have a nightlight, it's just a comfort thing.

Good luck! L.

oops i was trying to post to the next one and can't figure out how to delete this one. sorry for taking up space.

I used to have terrible nightmares a child! One of the things that used to help me, was to have a buddy to sleep with. Like a stuffed animal that I really loved! My mother used to tell me that he would protect me. Another thing I used to do, or believed, was that if I told someone my nightmare, it wouldn't happen again. One other tip was that when the attacker tried to get me, just punch him in the nose and say "go away" or "no"! I know dreams are all in the mind, but I think if you make your child believe or understand that he has control over his dreams, and to think of fun and wonderful things, that those thoughts would take over the bad thoughts. I think right now he/she is so freaked out about the nightmares, that he/she is thinking about it before he goes to bed, hence dreaming about it. Try talking about "nice" things and reading nice stories to your child and see if that has any influence on their dreams. Example, being a princess or prince. Use your imagination! Hope that helps! :-)

Hi S.. Try an empty can of room spray. Tell her it scares them off for some reason. Put it by her at nights. When she screams for you grab the can and say they are gone now and goodnight. Out of my 4 kids I had, only 1 child experienced this same problem of being scared

Hi S.. I really wish I could help you, but all I can tell you is that I've been through the same thing with my oldest son (he's now 10 and doesn't have night terrors anymore, but now he sleep walks) and my 5 year old is currently doing the same thing your daughter is. He's completely incoherent when we try to talk to him and all we can really do is tell him he's dreaming and that he needs to go back to sleep. I talked to our doctor about both kids, and the only thing that was suggested was to put them through sleep studies, but even then... they just said that more than likely all we could do was wait for them to "grow out of it". I'm so sorry this is happening to you all!

Hi S....I think that the only thing you can really do is comfort her. Are you guys going through any changes? Like, new room, new house, new bed, new sleeping habits, or anything like that? That could be hurting her at night. Or maybe it's her food intake at night. I have nightmares if I eat right before bed time. Any kind of stimulating food or liquid can make th mind hyper-active and were can it go but into weird dreams?
My little sister suffered through what the docotors called night terrors. We had no idea what was causing it, and it finally went away. It took like a year. We just talked to her about real and mke-believe. Like the cartoons with monsters are not real. THat sort of thing. And she slpet with mommy sometimes when it got bad.
Maybe if you took her into your bed, cuddled her, and let her tell you her dreams, she would relax enough to go back to sleep peacefully. It always helps to talk out the scary things, right? Or maybe a nihtlight close to her bed would help. Well, I hope you guys get through this. My prayers are with your little girl. Best Wishes, T.