Is Your Child Suffering From Nightmares?

Being a parent means you are as strong as a superhero, right? Well, in your child's opinion you may very well be. When kids have nightmares, they may need to rely on you for support overnight to get them back to sleep and reroute their train of thought to a better sleep.

Nightmares can occur as a result of a few sources. The first is simply the unexplainable, your child falls fast asleep and wakes up with a bad dream for no apparent reason. The second is as result of a experience that recently occurred. Such as, the child viewed a rather detailed movie that evening, went to a haunted house or is afraid of a "monster" they claim is living in their closet. Things that are trivial to adults, but seem to be very scary to kids can onset nightmares. Foods is yet another source of bad dreams for little guys. Some claim chocolate can bring them on, but some researchers have explained this can be a result of foods that contain caffeine begin the culprit. The last reason that kids can have these types of dreams is as a result of a bad or abusive situation. If your child has been teased, abused by adult, witnessed abuse, or perhaps even has abused others.

Some ways to help your child not have these dreams can start by you monitoring their activities. Be observant as to what things they are eating right before bed and even for a few hours up until bedtime as well. Allow nutritious snacks before bedtime and not sweet or sugary ones and certainly not anything with caffeine in it. Next, ensure that your child is only viewing television programs that are suitable for their age. Many kids have poor dreams as a result of watching something their older siblings were also watching that may not have been appropriate for them. Finally, ask your child if they have any fears as they may be suffering form something that can be repaired by a simple hug from mom or dad. For more severe cases, you may need to speak candidly with your kids. If you fear your child may have been abused, witnessed it or has been suffering from some form of bullying at school, you have to uncover these demons that are haunting them to get them back to good health.

A good final tip is to try to see things through their point of view. For instance, if your child is under the age of ten years old they may see images in their room at night that can result in scaring them. Go into your child's room at night and look around in the dark. Do you see images that are shadows that may be frightful? If so, you may need to more around some furniture in your little one's room and then all will be resolved!