All kids suffer from nightmares at one point or another, so try reading your children one of these fictional stories to show them that they're not alone. These fun, quirky characters come up with creative ways to deal with their fears, and may inspire your own kids by showing them they're not the only ones having nightmares.
They lurk under beds, in the closet, and just outside the door. We're not talking bedbugs here, but monsters! Any parent who's heard the middle of the night scream knows just how terrifying they can be. Regardless of the frequency with which mama tells her tot they aren't real, it often takes more than a few comforting words to rid kids of their nightmares. Before heading off to sleep, consider these options to give kids a sense of security.
Nights can be scary! This post was submitted by an anonymous reader in the A Place to Vent group.
My 5-year-old was a great sleeper, until recently. Since Thanksgiving, he has been plagued with nightmares that seem to wake him up almost every night. We've switched our bedtime reading books to nice, quiet tales (Dr. Seuss works wonders for lulling him off to sleep), eliminated any strange shadows from his room, and even toned down our pre-bed activities. But the nightmares persist. Anyone have any suggestions for eliminating them for good? I don't think I can take another night of middle-of-the-night screeching!
Let it all out in our anonymous A Place to Vent group over in the LilSugar Community.
Monsters beware! A new gang of six plush animals are ready, willing, and able to ward off the scariest monsters that lurk in a lil one's room at night.
Any mama that has been called into her wee one's room to search for offending creatures in the middle of the night will want to meet the Scare Me Nots ($25 each). Led by Defender Dave, the six plush dolls are designed to help tots sleep worry free through the night. Each Scare Me Not has its own unique personality and means for keeping monsters at bay, like Watchdog Wally who uses his high-tech nose to sniff out the troublemakers. With extra-long Velcro tails, the Scare Me Nots can be fixed onto a doorknob or mattress springs, allowing them to keep an eye out for monsters throughout the night (especially those that hang out under the bed)!
Whether you remember your dreams or not, research shows that women suffer from having more nightmares than men, and they're more emotionally intense too. 
Those dreams can be divided into three categories: fearful dreams (like being chased), losing a loved one, or confused dreams (where you're lost, or things don't make sense). The scientists discovered that there was a strong correlation between actual events and anxieties the women experienced in their lives, and things they dreamt about.
Another interesting finding is that women dream more often about family members, negative emotions, and indoor settings, while male dreams contain more physical aggression (like fighting or attacks). Both genders dream about sex, but men dream about actual intercourse when women dream about kissing and fantasizing about other people.
Since men and woman are so different, it would make sense that we dream differently too, but I'm curious, how often do you have vivid, intense nightmares?
If you've got a wee one who wakes up paralyzed with fright at night, end his nightmares with pleasant thoughts before bed. A Sugar staffer who had trouble sleeping when she was lil, told me about her then teenage sister's remedy — a dream jar. It was filled with pink and blue papers with all kinds of adventures written on them from "Tonight you will ride on a unicorn" to "You're going to Disneyland with your family." Each evening she had the child choose one before she fell asleep and it worked. The nightmares were willed away.
