Nightmares can be unsettling for both kids and parents. You can help your child feel safe, soothed, and ready to drift back to sleep. Here are helpful tips to gently calm your kiddo after a bad dream:

1. Respond Right Away

Come quickly, stay calm, and offer comfort. Just knowing you’re there and everything is okay helps ease fear fast.

✨ Try: “I’m right here. That was just a dream. You’re safe now.”

2. Reassure with Touch

Hold them close or rub their back gently, arm tickles or stroke their hair. Soft physical touch signals safety and helps the nervous system settle.

💬 Use a calm voice and keep your words simple and soothing.

3. Let Them Talk (Or Not!)

Some kids need to describe their nightmare; others want to forget it. Either way is okay.

🎧 Listen gently and validate their feelings:
 “That sounds really scary. I’d feel scared too.”

4. Offer a Safe Reality Check

Gently remind them that dreams aren’t real, and nothing in the room has changed.

🛏️ Flip on a nightlight or check the closet together, if it helps.

5. Use a Comfort Object

Encourage your child to snuggle their favorite stuffed animal (Sleepover Friends!) or blanket — it helps restore a feeling of control and comfort.

🧸 Give the stuffed animal a “guardian” role for extra bedtime courage. Our Sleepover Friends are Warriors that stand guard in the closet some nights.

6. Create a Calming Wind-Down

Guide your child through deep breathing, a gentle song, or a short back rub to ease them back to sleep.

💤 Try this: “Breathe in like you’re smelling a flower... breathe out like blowing out a candle.”

7. Do a Reset

This is the best trick for our family. When the girls wake up from a nightmare they flip their pillows over. It's like a do over. With the pillow flipped they can go back to sleep and not have to think about the dream they were having.

8. Stick to a Predictable Routine

A steady bedtime routine builds a sense of safety and helps prevent night disruptions.

📚 Warm bath, pajamas, brush the teeth you want to keep (haha),  story time, tuck in your Sleepover Friend, snuggles and lights out — keep the order the same every night.

9. Use Imagination for Good

Encourage your child to imagine a happy ending or a “dream hero” who can protect them.

🦄 “What if your unicorn turned the monster into jelly and danced on it?”

10. Remind Them: Nightmares Are Normal

It’s totally normal for kids to have scary dreams — and they don’t mean anything bad will happen.

🌟 “Even grownups have nightmares sometimes. You’re not alone.”