Doesn't Like Dreams

[Phoebe]

My 4 yo hasn't been wanting to sleep lately. She doesn't want to close her eyes because she "doesn't like dreams". She stays awake in her room after we say our goodnights, usually wakes up upset during the night once and gets up early. We are paying for her lack of sleep during the day in with more whining and tantrums. I have tried explaining about the different kinds of dreams and banning certain TV shows that may cause scary thoughts. It isn't helping.

Have your preschoolers gone through this phase? Do you have any suggestions on how we can get her to sleep more? Know of any books about dreams that would be age appropriate? We are all tired in this house. Any thoughts would be appreciated!

Jennifer

There's a Bearenstain Bears book about nightmares that my kids love. They never really professed any problems with their dreams, but they sure latched onto the concept when we read the book.

Good luck!

[mommax3]

Does she have her own flashlight? They make some neat ones for kids. Being able to turn on a light by themselves in the middle of the night without having to get out of bed really helped my boys.

Our boys have all fallen asleep to certain favorite cds when they were little, and if they wake up scared in the night, starting the same cd they fell asleep to works like magic.

Nathan is doing this too, right now, and my oldest did it at the same age. It will pass......hopefully quickly!!! Keep being very strict right now about what she sees on tv.

Sally

[Sheherezade]

What has worked for us (with a non-sleeper ) is a tape player and music or books on tape. Also, we put a small fish tank with a light on her bedside table. She seems to relax more if she can listen to some music and watch her fish swim around. She takes a looooooong time to drift off - literally hours sometimes - but she seems happy with her quiet time before bed. We put her in bed around 7:30 and she's always out by 9. Sometimes much earlier as well.

We also did "dream dust" with a little bit of glitter in a small box for a short time. We put a pinch on her head to send her good dreams. She has a set of "worry" dolls (those little tiny dolls in a box - Native American maybe?). We gave them to her for fun only, but she's adopted them for their intended use. You're supposed to put one under your pillow for each concern and it will be gone by morning. It is amazing how many times I find those things tucked under her pillow. Clearly, she's worked out her own rituals now to deal with nighttime fears. I'd kee bedtime consistent, but try to give her time to transition into sleep. JMHO.

[Sheherezade]

Thanks Annie!

[Phoebe]

Thank you for the suggestions. We have a bedtime routine in place which she balks at every night. It does take her a while to settle in and we allow her time inher room as long as she stays there.

The night terrors have stopped mid-week after we resurrected the "sleeping fairy". Wednesday night she screamed on and off for 3.5 hours. It was like she was half asleep. It was a nightmare for us!

I definitely noticed a couple of times in the middle of the night she was trying to push my buttons. After I figured that out, I was able to side-step the conflict and since we are trying to spend more quality time with her. I think we are making some headway and I have reserved some dream books at the library. So thanks!

Jennifer

Sleep stuff is so, so hard and there is a direct ramification for your sleep too. I'm glad to hear it is getting better.

Give my regards to the sleep fairy.