Dream Weaver - Methods of FIghting Back Against Nightmares

We're lucky enough that nightmares aren't a daily, or even weekly occurrence in our house, but they still happen from time to time.  Sometimes it's something that they saw on TV, most recently it was concern over the ghost of Christmas Future in Disney's Mickey Mouse infused Christmas Carol.  The first time the minions watched it, no problem, and I have to admit I was skeptical because I remember being terrified of the cigar chomping Ghost of Christmas Future when I was little.  I was relieved and figured that the advent of Mickey Mouse Club House in our home put the character Pete in a positive enough light that the kids "just knew" that he was trying to help Scrooge McDuck become a better man, err duck.

Then they asked to watch it again, just after the New Year.  So we looked it up on YouTube and watched it.  Unfortunately for us, the version we watched prior to Christmas was the super duper edited CBC version, the YouTube version was a little more scary ghost focused, completely uncut. So there were nightmares.

For anyone who doesn't believe that Disney can be scary, I challenge you to have your children spend some time with The Shadow Man from The Princess and the Frog or the Headless Horseman from The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.  

The Headless Horseman

Molly was up with nightmares about Pete, and him pushing Scrooge into a hole (grave).  How did I let my four year olds watch something involving someone shoving someone into their own cemetery plot and expect dreams of rainbows and sunshine?  Parent fail!  I might as well secure a giant poster of the Wicked Witch of the West to the ceiling above her bed.

The Ghost of Christmas Future Courtesy of  Disney Wikia

Jack's nightmares seem to be a little more imagination focused.  There's a giant duck with teeth who seems to be a recurring theme in bad dreams there.  I wonder if he's ever come across Count Duckula without me knowing?

Either way we seem to have found a way to keep repeat nightmares from becoming recurring episodes.  A few years ago Grandma purchased Molly and Jack a dream catcher from a shop in BC for their bedroom.  It hangs up high, by the window.  We explained to the minions what it was there to keep good dreams and catch bad dreams so they go away.  Recently we decided that it was time to make it an active part of bad dream prevention, rather than just an idea. In the morning after a bad dream or a nightmare we throw the bad dream into the dream catcher so it won't return.  

Nowadays, the minions actively seek out the dream catcher to dispose of any nightmares.  So far, it's worked quite well.  While the dream catcher doesn't prevent night time interruptions of sleep, it does seem to have us avoiding back to back nightly double features. 

What do you do to prevent nightmares in your home?

To explore other bad dream prevention measures click here.

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