How to Help Children With Nightmares

Nightmares can happen to anyone at any age, but it is especially common in children ages 3 to 6. A child this age is developing his own sense of fear and the imagination is very active at this age, according to the WebMD website. Most dreams happen in the middle of the night or early morning hours, when the child is experiencing rapid eye movement (REM) during his sleep. This often causes the child to be frightened and need the comfort of a parent, thus causing lack of sleep for sometimes the whole household.

Instructions

    • 1

      Talk to your child about her nightmares. Often it will stem from something unpleasant or frightening that happened during the day. Help your child to remember that nightmares cannot harm or hurt her in any way.

    • 2

      Avoid teasing or allowing older siblings to make fun of your child if he has recurrent nightmares. There is nothing you can do to prevent nightmares, but making fun of the child only will increase the child's anxieties and may increase the occurrence of nightmares. Be sure to reassure your child that you are there for him and that you will always be available to cuddle him or stay with him until he falls back asleep.

    • 3

      Tell your child the next time she has a nightmare to rewrite the ending, according to the KidsHealth website. If she dreams of a monster, have her create an ending to the dream that is pleasant. For instance, the monster can grow long eyelashes, a beautiful smile and turn into a giant puppy that becomes her friend. Alternately, you can have the child write down her bad dream on a sheet of paper and then rip it into pieces and throw it away. This is a good visual aid to help remind them that dreams are not real and can be easily discarded.

    • 4

      Give your child a dream journal. Upon awakening, whether it is in the middle of the night or in the morning, have him write down his dreams, even if they are good ones. Your child will find it interesting and sometimes funny to realize how his brain works, while he is sleeping.

    • 5

      Visit a specialist who can determine if your child has a physical problem that causes her to have repetitive nightmares. It is rare that a doctor's intervention may be needed, but visiting a sleep lab to record the brain waves, breathing and muscle activity will at least rule out any physical problems.

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