Bad dreams

[PaganScribe]

Hi y'all.

I have a 3.5 year old son who's been telling us for about a month that he's having "bad dreams."

He's gotten to the point where he is afraid to go to sleep because he will have bad dreams.

We are going through a very stressful time right now (sold our house and are moving to a new house -- we had a problem with the purchase of the new house which has made this even more stressful than it would be on his dad and I, and which means we're going to be having to stay with relatives for about 10 days between closings). Nate is very despondent about moving -- he "loves his pink house" and really doesn't want to move.

We still cosleep, and we have not packed any of his things yet. He is a very, very verbal child, and we talk all the time about how all his stuff is coming with us to the new house, and we empathize with him about how much we love our home too, but we will also love our new home . . . still, though, I think this stress must be at the root of the nightmares.

Does anyone have any suggestions about how to help him with the bad dreams?

Thanks for any help!

[Twocoolboys]

We have a lavender spray that I spray on my kids' pillows on the nights that they are having trouble falling asleep. I always tell them that it will help them have good dreams. Maybe you could make some kind of a spray like that? Or use a good smelling sachet of some sort. I also have a small lavender pillow that my 2 year old likes to sleep with sometimes. We call it his snuggle pillow. I think lavender is a relaxing scent and is supposed to help people fall asleep.

[CarrieMF]

I purchased a Dream Catcher for my oldest dd. She hasn't had any bad dreams since.

[KatyMom]

I second the lavender spray and dreamcatcher! Children at this age still beleive in magic and it sounds like he's going through some serious stress for his age. My dd was this age when we moved for the first time in her life, and I broke down the concept of lucid dreaming to her. I explained to her how it is possible to control your dreams and make the bad parts stop. I helped her to keep a dream journal when she woke up, and encouraged her to talk to me about the dreams. It seemed to help.

[PaganScribe]

Thanks so, so much for the suggestions mamas. I think we're going to try both!