Lil Bug has never once mentioned a dream or a nightmare to us. She is 3 years and a couple of months old. I would have guessed that by now she would have experienced a dream and/or a nightmare and been able to identify it, but that hasn't happened.
Today, she was taking her nap after we got back from school and after about 15 minutes she woke up crying. When I went into her room she said the man with the mustache was scaring her and she didn't want him in her room.
The man with the mustache? What!?!?! So, I asked her about the man and she said that he has a big mustache and screams and screams and screams. I was concerned upon hearing this. Immediately I am thinking about who she has been around and what she may have been exposed to. I ask for more details.
Me: Where did you see the man with the big mustache?
Bug: Once upon a time there was a man with a mustache and he was going to be on t.v.
Me: So you saw him on tv?
Bug: Yes and then he screamed and screamed!
Me: Who was he screaming at?
Bug: The people who pulled his mustache!
Me: What else happened and where were you when you saw it on tv?
Bug: I was sitting on the carpet square and he came on tv and I turned around so I didn't have to see him. He scared me. He was on the train and there were penguins.
Me: *ah, I think I might get it now...she was at school and they watched The Polar Express!* I asked her if that was it and she said yes.
So, everything is settled...good to go! Not quite that fast. She woke up because in her dream (or nightmare) the man with the mustache was in her room and she could NOT get him out of her mind. I told her I promised to not let the man in her room and she made me stand guard at her door until she returned to sweet slumber. She slept for a little over an hour, but the first thing out of her mouth when she woke up was, "did the man come into my room?"
We did some errands after her nap and she talked and talked and talked about the man...she is still talking about him NONSTOP and it has been several hours now. I think that it might help to rent/buy The Polar Express and watch it with her. Or, maybe getting the book for her to look through will be enough. I don't know, but I feel bad she was scared by the man and I am so tired of hearing the same story over and over and over again.
Any suggestions?!?!?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Hi Angie.... my daughter is very afraid of thunder and one night I told her that her build a bear Snow Leopard's growl could scare away thunder. She's been fine ever since. If a storm is coming she makes sure to go to bed with it just in case. Lately she's been having bad dreams too and has started waking us multiple times per night for reassurance. I told her that no matter how real the dream seemed, as soon as she woke up and felt her "pinky bear" she would know she was safe in bed and nothing in the dream could hurt her. She's slept straight through for several nights now... or at least has not woken us. I think having something tangible for reassurance and feeling the power to handle it were as key as feeling safe and protected from mommy and daddy. Just my thoughts...
I would definitely try the book over the movie...maybe if you both look at it & talk about it together when she feels ready for it, it might make her less scared.
Good luck!
Post a Comment