Distance to the Evil Dream Parents should provide children with peace and quiet after nightmares

Nightmares of children: Calming instead of interpreting together
When children awaken to a bad dream, their parents should help them get away from their nightmare. Experts advise against interpreting the dream together with the little ones, which would make it difficult for the children to forget the horror trip.

Nightly horror trips sometimes last into the day
Everyone has already awakened from a bad dream. It's not always over. Sometimes the horror trips are enough in the night until well into the day. Appeasements like: "It was only a dream", then do not necessarily help. Many are worried about the confused dreams and their meaning and are therefore sometimes even more frightened. Children are particularly affected.

Parents should reassure children who wake up after a bad dream and help them to distance themselves from the nightmare. A common interpretation of the horror trip would be a hindrance. (Image: Sergey Nivens / fotolia.com)

Children are more likely to suffer from nightmares
Due to the longer sleep phases, children are also more often plagued by nightmares. As reported by the Association of Paediatricians (BVKJ) on its website "kinderaerzte-im-netz.de", parents should not try to interpret the bad dream together with the child after waking up.

According to Katharina Rödiger, psychologist and sleep researcher at the Children's University of Eastern Bavaria, it is rather important to build a distance to the dream. If parents interpret the dream, then it may be that it settles in the memory. This makes it very difficult for the little ones to forget the dream.

Body contact with the child
As the BVKJ explains, parents realize a nightmare that the child wakes up, is emotionally agitated and sweaty. In addition, the offspring can clearly remember the terrible dream.

In this situation, parents should calm down, hug, or lie down with their child. Body contact makes the child feel protected. However, if a child has nightmares every week or has the same dream over and over again, it is advisable to consult the pediatrician.

Get nightmares under control
Other experts point out that in nightmares it is recommended to let children find a solution themselves by discussing the bad dream with them the next day.

Even adults should not accept it: nightmares can be defeated. There are targeted techniques with which one can get a grip on nightmares on one's own or with professional help.

There are also successful therapies for chronic nightmares. The family doctor can often recommend an experienced psychotherapist or a sleep specialist. Drugs are only prescribed in the worst case. (Ad)