Parents, do everything to protect their children throughout their lives? Parents care for them and sometimes they face the toughest situations for their bright future. They want to ensure that their children should not face any problem. But often children have nightmares which makes the parents upset and helpless. Does your child also get scared at night or do he/she have bad or scary dreams? Suddenly waking up and fear is a common problem in children. Mostly, children start to feel the same way they hear or see things around them. It is also believed that dreams inform us about future events. Some dreams are auspicious while others are inauspicious. If your children are also fighting the nightmare problem, then the below tips may be helpful for you.
What are nightmares?
Nightmares are a common problem in young children, as they are often scared to see something in the night(darkness). However, the youth may also occasionally suffer from these nightmares. These nightmares can usually be:
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- anything that is seen around
- things they are scared to see or
- things that can hurt them
Some children are also frightened by people living in their neighborhood (due to their looks and physical appearance).
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Why do children have nightmares?
- Children start feeling the same things they hear or see things around them. It is when they begin to understand the events happening in the surrounding world.
- The more children understand the tragic and scary things in real life, the same situations appear in their dreams.
- At night, children can have dreams ranging from real-life horror to the cartoons they see. Many a time, children sometimes dream about monsters and boogeyman. However, nightmares do not follow a certain pattern.
- Sometimes children are scared in their dreams thinking more about the current anxiety that they are facing in their life.
- Most nightmares occur during sleep during REM (Rapid Eye Movement). This part of sleep is also known as dreaming.
- Nightmares often occur in the second half of the night, so it is common to see children waking up from their dreams.
What should you do if your child is struggling with a nightmare?
- First and foremost, assure your child that you are there for them and nothing bad is going to happen. Most children need trust, assurance and your presence.
- In such a circumstance, never get angry on your child (for having a bad dream), instead, try to explain and calm them down.
- Keep your temper calm and tell them everything is fine and they are safe.
- Rub their hair or back, it will give relief and bring peace to the children's minds.
- Tell them that it was only a nightmare and not a reality. Try to grab their focus and attention on peace and good things.
- If a clown or a scary doll scares your children, remove it as early as possible.
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