Neurodevelopment and beyond: When children have bad dreams

One of the fascinating things that can happen to people occurs in their dreams. When people sleep, the body rests, but the mind at times goes to places the body otherwise would have never reached. However, the opposite can also happen. Sometimes, dreams can be quite scary and downright terrifying. While this can be jarring even for the most courageous of adults, one can only imagine the effect on children.

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Dr. Curtis Cripe mentions that what magnifies nightmares for children is that at a young age, they still have issues telling the waking and dream worlds apart. This is still a huge question mark in science and the research of dreams, but parents will be able to help their child when the latter wakes up in tears.

But before anything else, Dr. Curtis Cripe mentions that parents should never dismiss their children’s dreams. Doing so may have a negative effect on children, especially since some nightmares may impact how a child perceives the world and, ultimately, their behavior. That said, parents should also learn how to approach a child without making things worse.

Psychologists and therapists have come up with ways in which parents may help children confront the situation. Children may be asked to draw their dreams, with these drawings becoming topics of conversation later. Another way is to reinforce the belief in children that they are safe with their parents at all times, Dr. Curtis Cripe adds.

However, mental health experts mention that if children cannot let go of their dreams and they seem bothered throughout the day, parents should take the next step and bring them to a child psychiatrist.

Dr. Curtis Cripeis a neuroengineer with a diverse multidisciplinary background that includes software development, bioengineering, addiction recovery, psychophysiology, psychology, brain injury, and child neurodevelopment. For more updates on neurological disorders, visit this blog.