Nightmares in 6 Year Old

please do not punish him for getting out of bed and trying to comfort from his parents. that surely isn't going to help. instead may i recommend that you let him into your bed. it sounds like he needs some re-attaching, especially at night. the best way to do that is to have a family bed. i am sure everyone would get more sleep that way. and most of the world actually bedshares so it is not unusual. in fact, there is nothing like snuggling with ones child at night...

Take him to a psychologist. I know there is a name for it I just can't remember. It's a sleeping disorder and nothing else. I'm sure you've heard about some people having the same experience except they were taking Ambien (sleep aid). Sleep disturbances are very treatable. It's time to go and get this under control. Do not punish, etc. It's not his fault.

My son has struggled with nightmares, and what we've found is a direct relationship between sugar before bed (about two hours seems to be the cutoff) and nightmares. It also happens when he has to pee at night.

Beyond that easy fix, you can consider hypnotherapy. It's not as weird as it sounds, and it's not outside the philosophy of any religion that I know of. It just deals with the realm of consciousness below our waking minds, and that's where dreams are from. It's fast and could probably be taken care of in one session. Whatever is disturbing his sleep is coming from his subconscious mind (literally below consciousness) and getting into a relaxed state near sleep (which is what hypnotherapy does) can bring out the cause and help him find a solution. If you're interested, get in touch with me. I don't know where you are but I can probably recommend someone to you. It will most likely be faster than psychotherapy.

Good luck. He'll get through it, and hopefully soon!

I wish you well.

OK, I agree with Elizabeth that it might be night terrors. My son had them at two and a half and it took 4-5 months for them to stop.
Night terrors will primarily be different from nightmares in that they will generally not remember in the morning and while they are in the midst, they will not recognize that you are there and will fight off your touch or attempt to comfort them.
If he is communication with you during the event, it might not be the terrors.
I was horrified by my inability to help my son when this was happening to him so I really feel your pain.
Please do see the recommended Dr. and be open to their advice.
GOOD LUCK!!

Hi C.,

This might sound weird, but my step-daughter who is now 9, also has/had many nightmares when she comes over to sleep. we annointed her, we prayed with her but still had nightmares.

While we were on vacation in Old town San Diego we stopped at a booth and as I was looking at the dream cathchers. The sales lady told me a story about her 3 yr old grandson that had nightmares. She said they put a dream catcher and that was the end of his nightmares, he never complained again. So I bought our step-daughter one and put it on her headboard and that was the end of her nightmares. She hasn't complained since then. So you might want to give that a try. I know it sounds weird but it worked and she doesn't wake up crying in middle of the night anymore. Hope this helps...
M.

Dearest C.:
My heart goes out to you in this challlenging time. These happenings sound very much like " night terrors" to me. My youngest daughter suffered with them from before she could talk until the night before her first day of school ( the last one that we know of anyway). These occurances are absolutely terrifying for everyone but the child . I know we tried everything and tried to wake her without frightening her. Our pediatrician said night terrors can sometimes be similar to sleepwalking in that you don,t want to frighten the child. She also advised us to turn all the lights on and try to be calm during the screaming , etc. We never figured out what caused them to come or go but the first ones occured during a time when my oldest child was undergoing multiple major surgeries. I also felt that in our situation we would not refer to these things except in passing- such as " did you sleep well last night ?" or "did you have any dreams?".My daughter is now a beautiflu 20 year old woman expecting her own first child. Good Luck with this and please ,please trust in your gut feelings - they wil not mislead you.

Hi C.,

It sounds to me as if your family are powerful members of Christ's family. Because of that fact, it is possible that your son's dreams may be the result of something dark. My fifteen year old daughter went through a time when her moods became darker. We did not know why this was happening. We are Christ followers and He is the center of our home as well. I read The Power of a Praying Parent by Stormy Omartian and in it it spoke about the need to pray over our children's rooms. If your family was gone, it may have opened your home up to something that has centered in your child's room. Because it seems to be effecting his dreams, that especially concerns me. Go through your son's room - seek out anything that may contain violence or inappropriate material. Video games and music can have a bad effect. As you are going through the room, ask God's help in finding what may be causing the dreams. If you don't find anything, that's ok. Continue praying over his bed, over his doorway, over his personal items, his desk, etc. Command anything that is not of God to leave his room. It really does work. In the case of my daughter, she had gotten a black light from one of her friends. She was sitting in her room in the "dark" and sleeping like that. We removed the light, prayed over the room, and her moods instantly changed. God bless your family. We will pray for your family.

Dear C.,

You said something interesting...that your son has no recollection of the night when he wakes in the morning. It is very possible then, that he is not actually "waking" at night. Sleep walking? Night terrors? (there are other specific names for different kinds)
I would hate to be applying "consequences" to a young child not fully awake and making conscious decisions or one experiencing fear. Obviously sleep disturbances are the main problem...not behavior choices.
While your kids were with the the friends, did they eat food that was not what you would normally serve? Exposure to different brands or types of foods ( or MORE of certain foods...like more dairy) can have lingering effects. This problem might improve with time, if food was part of the issue.
I'd continue with the psych plan though...but remember, sleep is strongly affected by our body physiology and environment (light, noise, temp) as well as our psychological state.

Good luck