Help About Nightmares

Hi, hang in there, this is the age when children develope there imaginations and sometimes have a hard time telling the difference between fiction and reality. My son at around the same age would wake up screaming and it took us what felt like forever to figure it out. After some time we noticed there was a connection between when we would watch animal planet and the nightmares. He had them whenever he saw an animal with big teeth, like tigers and bears even if they were being nice and around people. So we stopped watching the nature shows and took a close look at what else he was being exposed to. In the end we ended up making sure we didn't watch the news when he was awake nor any of the shows for the older kids like the non-cartoons on disney. Soon the nightmares became fewer and fewer. As his speech improved we had and easier time as he was able to tell us exactly what bothered him. So if we noticed him being nervous around something he was seeing or doing we talked it out with him then and explained what was going on and it helped a lot too.
My best example of this is when we went over to a friends house who had older kids. My son followed their child up onto the top bunk of their bed. I was there to help when it was time to climb down, but he was able to do it himself. He got down and quickly starting playing with something else so I didn't think anymore about it. However later that night he woke up screaming "down, down" It took us awhile to calm him down and show him he was in his own bed, but eventually he fell back to sleep.
Anyway, sorry if I rambled, and I hope this had helped. It may not be this but its hard to tell what is going on in their wonderful minds and they are developing so fast.
Remember the old saying "this too shall pass" and good luck.
Feel free to contact me if you would like to talk, anytime.
K.

Hello LH,

Is your baby able to comuunicate with you what the dreams are about?

Have a brilliant day~
Life Coach J.

Hi... My little one also had this. If you can get him to take a small tablet/ pellet, I recommend reading up on Chammomile (a homeopathic) which is completely safe for all ages. It's about $6 - $8 at a health food store and may help with the nightmare/night terrors. Get the 6x dose for this age. I used it for my son and it seemed to help. Also great for teething! It has other really good benefits, too. The best thing about homeopathic medicine is you DO NOT have any ill effects - even if it may not work. There is always something else that will resonate with your child. I even use homeopathy to help with my rheumatoid arthritis as it really helps to keep it under control when the weather flares it up.

Best of luck... I know this is a hard situation! ;)

If your child is unaware of anything around him, still screaming when he appears to be awake, suddenly seeming aware of his surroundings when he calms, he may be having night terrors. They're very different from nightmares. They're unusual, and mostly happen in kids around the time they go to preschool, if at all. My son started at six months old and had them until he was 11 or 12. His fater was the same. If this sounds like it might be the case, consult a professional, not your family pediatrician necessarily; make sure he has experience dealing with it. My son has emotional and social issues to this day that could be attributed to Asperger's Syndrome.

Dear L H,
I had this problem with my son up until he was about 9 years old. He would be absolutely frantic & shaking. He didn't know where he was at or anything. It was the worst.
He suffered a lot from birth with his ears & had colds & sinus issues. Now I realize that whenever I gave him medicine over the counter or his prescriptions, he would get these so-called "panic attacks". I never give anything like that to him anymore after the last couple were almost to the point of me calling EMS/EMT. I was so scared. I learned how to do massage techniques for calming them down & I've never had a problem since. Even now at the age of 14, my son will ask me to massage his ears or sinus areas & neck; almost immediately he will sleep all through the night. For me, I totally blame the meds. (Especially the cold medicines & ear meds)-never again. Also, I use rice packs, which I learned to make that you heat up (gently for children/adults) in the microwave & then lay them next to the child for extra warmth. (I always think of it (like in the olden days)like a hot water bottle for warming up the bed before you went to sleep.
Not certain if that helps, but I hope it does.
K.