When Your Child Is Frightened at Night

Where to start

• Use a night light that stays on all night, and leave the light outside your child’s door on.
• Tell them when you’ll be back, “in five minutes”, and come back when you said.
• Talk about the fear in the daytime, and keep frightening stories away from bedtime.
• The NHS suggests seeing a GP if nightmares continue after the age of six, happen often, or follow something upsetting or frightening.

The rest of the tip, and why it works, is in the library.

Sources

Action for Children, How to help soothe your child’s bedtime fears; NHS, Night terrors and nightmares

It goes with

• The Hour Before Bed. For parents whose child’s bedtime has turned into an hour of worries, questions and meltdowns.
• Big Feelings and Co-Regulation. For parents whose child has just had a meltdown, on how to help them through it.

The first chapter you open here is free to read in full.

Free on this subject

• Sleep. What to do first, what helps, and who else can help. Free to read and to print.
• Anxiety. What to do first, what helps, and who else can help. Free to read and to print.