Bad Dreams

[mum23girls]

Do your older children often wake up complaining of bad dreams or hardly ever?!

My 6 year old probably wakes up at least 5 times a week at night and wants to come into our bed because she has had a bad dream...I don't know how true this is, in the way that she never can tell me what the dream is about......
At least now when she comes in, we tell her to go back to bed and turn the light on (the hall light stays on all night as well.) Lately the 3 year old has been waking every night now as well, but at a different time!!!! Can't win! The baby is the best sleeper out of the three!!!!!!!!

We have tried cutting out TV, playing dreamy music, pleasant stories all to no avail!

I have considered a psycologist, but can't really afford it so I am after other ideas now, if anyone has any!! THis has been going on for ages and I am getting really fed up with it!!!!:banghead:

[mumof three]

Don't know if you'll come back to read this, seeing as you posted 2 months ago! I am new to the site, and saw your post just today. As you haven't had any replies, I thought I'd put in my two cents!

My two daughters both regularly have bad dreams, especially if there is something new happening - the month before my son was born was appalling - i was up 4-5 times a night - was glad to get to hospital for some rest.

DD1 will tell me in acute detail about her dreams, DD2 almost invariably will say " it was a witch" and i sometimes feel she was awake and thought she'd see what I was up to.:banghead:

If they've had a bad dream, I often mime having a box for the girls to put their dream into, which I (mime) fasten up tightly and throw out their bedroom window. DD2 also likes to have classical music to listen to after her dream. DD1 likes to tell me the whole dream in vast detail, which is exhausting :eek:

We have a system of "stars" for good behaviour, which can be taken away for naughty behaviour. When I got really desperate with DD2 who was up several times a night, and not really distressed (I think she was just bored). I said she would get a star if she stayed in bed all night, and I even got to the point when I said she would lose a star if she got me up. (I was flexible on the delivery of the punishment - if I felt she was genuinely distressed, I didn't take the star away). This was what finally did the trick for both of them, and our nights are pretty good now - I guess I am up once a week or so with one or the other.:sleeping: