The Kids Are Dreaming

They say that when a bay smiles while he is asleep, it means that he is dreaming or being played by his angle. The angle part, I dunno but the dreaming part, maybe yes. Scientifically, when a new born smiles, it is just a gas passing out of his mouth.

Have you ever wonder if your kids are really dreaming or if they knew they are dreaming and if they can comprehend what is happening after they close their eyes?

I do and I observed my kids. As you know I have three subjects that I can closely observe and enough to make my own theory. From my experiences with my kids I learned that kids do have dreams. They dream but only in a certain age when they become aware of it, only a certain age when they can separate it from reality. Given a lot of practice and a lot of encouragement from you, time will come that they can relate it to you clearly.

When I had my first born, there was a time when in the middle of the night he would scream and kick and no amount of soothing can make him stop. It took more or less a year before he overcomes that. From time to time I would ask him why he would suddenly scream or cry and he can’t even remember that he cried. It took us a lot of nights and a lot of encouragement and questioning before he finally realized what is happening. It was very apparent that he was dreaming; only he can’t separate his dreams from reality. So finally when he recognized the difference of his dream from the real world, another struggle comes to life. It is how to encourage him to remember his dreams. For a time, we were not successful but now he can actually tell his dreams in full details.

I came to a conclusion (about the dream pattern) when Mico was in that screaming and kicking stage too. At age 3 they become aware of the dream and yet they cannot separate it from reality. They perceived their dreams as a real life experience and yet they are still too young to remember about it when they wake up. Turning 4, little by little, they understood what dream is all about. Life would be much much easier if parents would help them in understanding their dreams. Around 4 they are now in full control of their sleeping pattern (thanks to you mom and dad). Dreams no longer bother them but still unable to relate it to you clearly. At the age of 5, this is the time when they would endlessly talk about their dream in full animation.

So Mommy and Daddy what we need to do during the difficult stage of our baby?
Don't think of yourself less when there will come a time that o amount of soothing can make them stop.
Don't scream at them during these nights, no matter how tired you are, they are not aware of what is happening to them.
Talk to them, discuss about it, make them try to remember it but not force them to.

Chico's still not experiencing this stage but I can say I can handle him now with ease, thanks to my two guinea pigs.