Help... Son having bad dreams

[Josh&Avasmummy]

My son is almost five and is having bad dreams about monsters...
I have had to have him in my room at night because he gets that scared... He says that the monster is monster kirsty... Kirsty is his aunty and he constantly says that it isn't her, it's the monster kirsty...

Was just wondering if any of you have had the same problems with bad dreams or monsters... And how you have dealt with them in the past...???

Any tips or advice would be very helpfull! Thankyou in advance...

[InSaneOne]

you could get him a toy (like a really big teddy) and say that ??? will protect you from any monsters.

or you could get a samll box and decorate it and say that it is filled with monster repelling dust and "sprinkle" it around the room at night time.

or failing that get him a night light and say that the monsters won't come in if the light is on.

[PhAnToM]

Hi Josh&AvasMummy.
My 3 year old used to have bad dreams too. It went for a while.
In the end what DH and I would do is go into her room when she'd wake up calling (absolutely terrified) and get her to describe the monster.
We then turned it into a game for her saying "wow.. now put a red nose on him. Does he look silly yet?" if she said "no" we'd say "now put something on him to make him look silly. does he have blue funny hair?" etc... and we'd do that until we have a different image in her head and she'd think it was funny.
We had to do this a few nights, but eventually she out grew it. Some mornings she would wake up and say "there was a man with funny pink hair in my room last night. I told him he looked funny and he couldn't stay in my room. He went."
I guess you can try it.

What is his relationship like with his aunty? Strange that he happened to pick her name. Do you think he may have seen her angry with someone and was not expecting to see his aunty like that before? maybe shocked that she was different to the way he knew her to be?
Just wondering.

[Funkychicken]

A friend of mine has a 5yo son who has had awful nightmares for the last couple of years. I am convinced it is because he has unlimited access to TV and movies (movies desugned for older children such as harry Potter) but that aside, she bought him a dream catcher which hangs from his ceiling and catches all the bad dreams before they 'get to him' in his words. It works a treat for him.:D

[the_queen]

I'd also be wondering what Aunty Kirsty had done. Maybe you need to talk to your DS and get him to talk about what's upsetting him, sometimes our subconscious deals with trauma through dreams, and the dreams stop if you deal with the trauma in another way. I agree with the PP, maybe he saw Aunty get angry, or saw her doing something that scared him. She might not even realise that what she did was scary - kids interpret things differently sometimes.

Good luck, and don't stress about having him in your room with you; when he's scared, he needs to know that you're there for him and you're doing a fabulous job of assuring him of that :thumbsup:

[Nan]

When I was little, this happened to me and I remember telling my mum there was a monster under my bed. She asked me what it looked like etc, then said she had something that was really good at getting monsters to go away. She went out and came back with a broom!!!!!! I still have this funny picture of my mum shoving the broom under my bed sweeping around and yelling (yes....yelling) at the monster to go away and never come back! It worked a treat. No more monsters for me! Maybe you could try this???? I realise it is slightly more abstract when they are in your dreams, though. :o
Love,
Nan. xx

[MummyoftheMuffins]

Hi everyone... I am the "Aunty Kirsty!!!"

I don't think i have done anything or said anything to him, or to anyone around him that would make him dream of me as a monster. I told him i loved him and that i would never try to scare him or hurt him, and he said that it's not me, its the monster kirsty... We have both (Me & josh&avasmummy) tried to talk to him about it and get him to describe the moster kirsty, but he doesn't say anything except, "Not you! the monster kirsty".

I was very upset about it when i heard he was having bad dreams about a monster with my name... But i can honestly say i can't think of any reason why he would dream about me. I like to bring him treats and stuff when i go to visit him, and he said he loves me lots... I can't come up with a reason as to why these dreams are occuring.... :crying:

[PhAnToM]

Madismummy- I can imagine how hard that would be for you.
I don't think any of us suggested you did anything TO him. I think that life being the way it is (Well the way it is to me anyway), if he has over heard you letting off steam about something else, to someone else... (on the phone at some point perhaps). BECAUSE you are so loving towards him, he was caught off guard by the irritated you?!?!
Just a suggestion.

Maybe you should have a chat to him and take him to his room and say that Aunty Kirsty can get rid of all the bad Kirsties, just as Josh (i am assuming his name is Josh from his mother's name) will be able to get rid of all bad Joshes when he gets bigger. And do something animated to make him feel you have the power to get rid of the monster and that you are the loving aunty he knew/knows you to be... and that you will protect him.

Don't know... might work? :confused:

Let me know how you go. I can tell that you are as distressed about it as your nephew, if not more!

[MummyoftheMuffins]

Hi all just thought i'd write a message as my SIL "Josh&Avasmummy" hasn't had a chance to yet...

Josh is going well with his dreams the last two nights... SIL started sprinkling powder around the room and under his bed and told him that if the powder wasn't on him then the monster kirsty doesn't want him... and won't get him anymore. And he's slept through the night without any bad dreams for two nights now!!!! YAY!

:fingerscrossed: It stays that way!!!

(I hate being a monster!!! AND i hate having a monster share my name!!!!)

[PhAnToM]

Hi Kirsty.
That's fantastic that Josh has been able to sleep through without the monster visiting him. :smiliedance:
Hopefully he'll keep it up. With children, sometimes the strangest things work wonders. My DD was afraid to poo in the toilet, so i had to put sudocream "Special cream". You put a dab on your toosh and you can poo and it NEVER hurts! :thumbsup: LOL
Worked everytime until she just outgrew it within a couple weeks.

I can only imagine the stress you've been feeling, sharing a name with the monster. :hugs:
Actually, here's a thought... :idea: maybe he is telling you the truth.. this monster isn't actually sharing a name with you (as such), but maybe another Kirsty he knows.. perhaps someone in his class (if he goes to childcare or kinder) or teacher?