Still No Sleep for the Weary

I’ve talked about our complicated sleeping arrangements, and even though Mini gets the big ol’ bed most nights, she’s still not sleeping through the night.

This is a build up of several things, I think.

• For about the first 5 years of Mini’s life, she’s slept in an adult bed…with an adult.
• Her mother leaves the television on at night and we all know nighttime programming isn’t for kids.
• She has nightmares and doesn’t know how to deal with them.

I can’t do much about the first or second issue, but I can offer this advice : Don’t ever let your infant sleep in your bed. And don’t leave the television on at night.

As for the third problem, nightmares and dealing with them, I can offer some help for Mini.

She and I picked out a nice little notebook and I’ve asked her to write down her dreams, even the bad ones. I’m hoping that the act of writing down the dreams will be cathartic for her and help get them out of, and off, her mind.

I’ve also encouraged her to talk about the dreams with me or her mother or AM or some adult. I know that talking about dreams  helps to figure out the message and what they mean.

I’m a big believer of dreams being a window into your mind and what’s going on around you. Sometimes when you’re stressed about something or bothered, you only see that in a dream. If that’s Mini’s case, I want her to be equiped to deal with it.

Have your tweens had trouble sleeping because of dreams? How have you tackled that issue? Leave your ideas, suggestions and questions in the comments.