It is perfectly normal for small children to have anxiety fears at night. Usually this starts at the same age they start getting independent - you guessed it, age two! All of a sudden, they start waking up screaming in the middle of the night.
We didn’t know exactly why our toddler started having nightmares; causes seemed kind of unimportant, when we got down to it, we just wanted to know how to make the toddler nightmares go away!
I guess all the things our two year old daughter tackled so bravely with her mommy and daddy near during the daytime took on scary proportions in her dreams! We decided we had to solve her problems with sleep once and for all.
Ever hear of dream catchers? Now, I’m not going to go all spooky on you and say that they actually have mystical powers - you have to make your own judgments on that. All I know is my children believe, and dream catchers work for us!
A good friend of my husband makes Native American jewelry and ornaments, and she crafted the most beautiful dream catchers for our daughter and newborn son! They had a fine catgut web woven across a rawhide wrapped disk, with feathers, beads and silver charms.
We told our daughter that the web was like a strainer, keeping the bad lumps of nightmares out and only letting the sweet syrup of the dreams get through! She slept through that night and all the ones after without waking up once.
Our two older children still have their dream catchers hanging at the head of their beds, and I recommend them for anyone who has experienced sleep problems in children. They sure worked for our children’s nightmare problem! You can buy them or make your own - I have to get one soon for our new baby son, and am considering trying to make his myself!
Interesting feature on dreamcatchers. In alternative medicine, i have read about herbal remedies such as the Chamomile and Passiflora (along with homeopathic treatments) being used to soothe nightmares in children and likewise put them to sleep, in case they get too restless. This formula is now available in standardized herbal supplements.
I had heard of lavender and chamomile, but not Passiflora… I will have to look that up. I gave mine a bath in lavender at bedtime so they would go off to sleep.
I love the dreamcatchers! I am going to get one for my daughter to hang in her room at grandma’s house - she has been complaining she has nightmares when she is away from home.