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I know I’m quite a ways away from having to deal with my child’s nighttime fears. But I know I had nightmares growing up. As I mentioned before, my nightmares were mostly about a big gorilla that lurked in the dark corners.
(this post is back-dated to fit the #30DBC – actual posting date was 11/27/2012)
Ever since I can remember I have been curious about dreams and sleep, especially nightmares. So a post about nightmares and new research caught my eye earlier.
I read the whole thing and it was very interesting. It seems that night time fears and nightmares may be mostly problems in Western culture, and not across all cultures.
I also found this interesting:
Does communal sleeping reduce nighttime fears? It seems very plausible. It would be surprising if co-sleeping with parents didn’t reduce a child’s separation anxiety — a panic response arising from a primitive part of brain that also processes information about physical pain…
And this:
Among these ancestors, children left alone at night would have been extremely vulnerable to predation. Leaving a child alone at night meant abandonment and (very possibly) death. Fear evolved to keep kids close and safe.
The article suggests that co-sleeping may be the reason why other non-western cultures’ kids don’t seem to experience as much night time fears. Perhaps they’re onto something?
As a parent what is your opinion on nightmares and night time fears? And do you think co-sleeping is good?