Best Way to Help Your Child Overcome Nightmares

Bad dreams occur most frequently in young children between the ages of four and six years, although research indicates that at least 25 percent of children between six and twelve years still have nightmares. Don’t be concerned if your child has an occasional disturbed night, even though he may become upset by it.

Bad dreams can be due to many different factors, some of which can be avoided:

• Specific foods eaten late at night. Some children are more prone to nightmares after they have had a late-night snack of cheese or chocolate, or a soft drink with a high level of col­oring, sugar, and additives. Serve a healthful snack instead.
• Television program. Most children have vivid imaginations, and an action-packed television program or video just before bedtime can cause nightmares.
• Ill-health. When your child is incubating an illness, before the symptoms have fully emerged, his sleep at night may become unsettled. A sudden run of restless nights, coupled with nightmares, can be a warning that your child is about to develop an illness. Watch for this.
• Worry. What may seem trivial to you (such as not being able to sit beside a friend during juice time at playgroup) can seem momentous to a young child. Anxiety over small inci­dents can cause nightmares.

If your child wakes up distressed in the middle of the night, comfort him and stay until he has settled down again. Your child needs your reassurance that it was only a dream, that it didn’t real­ly happen, and that he is perfectly safe now. In a calm, unhurried voice, tell your child that the dream is over, that he’ll soon get back to sleep, and that he won’t have another bad dream like that one. He may calm down more quickly if you take him to the toilet, or downstairs for a drink of juice. Remember that your child will be all right in a few moments, and don’t let your anxiety show.

Repeated nightmares can be a sign that something is wrong. Once you have eliminated all the factors mentioned above, you should consider the possibility that your child has a deep-rooted fear. Maybe he’s not getting along well with friends, or perhaps his self-confidence is low because he is not as good at games as he wants to be. A child may have nightmares if he thinks his mom and dad are not getting along well. If your child regularly has bad dreams, talk to him about what’s happening in his life. Try to find out what’s troubling him. You may want to seek pro­fessional advice if the problem persists.

A night terror (pavor nocturnis) is an extreme form of nightmare, in which a child screams in his sleep and may even jump out of bed. Or the child may sit up, with his eyes wide open, and yet still be convinced that he can see something frightening. Twenty minutes may pass before he accepts that he is awake and that the night terror is over.

Always stay with your child during a night terror, all the time reassuring him that he’s safe. Do this until your child calms down. He will probably forget all about it by the following morning. Night terrors are rare, but frightening, both for a child and for his parents, who see their child so distressed. As with nightmares, there is no cause for concern unless the night terrors become regular, in which case something is worrying your child.