Saying it was just a dream or it's nothing to be afraid of isn't very helpful.

Although I know it's our first instinct, right? We want to just comfort them and say,

no, it's nothing, it's nothing. Obviously, it was something for them.

So saying it was just a dream, they may not know what that means.

And saying they're not afraid and that they shouldn't be afraid,

this minimizes their fear and worries, which doesn't help in validation and processing.

That is so important for kids and frankly for us as well.

Hello and welcome back to the Pete's Dog Talk podcast and Monday Mornings with Dr. Mona.

This is a podcast that keeps growing because of you and your reviews, so thank you for tuning in

and being here today. On this episode of Monday Mornings with Dr. Mona, I'm talking about

nightmares. How young is too young to have nightmares and how to navigate this?

Let's get to our caller's question. Hi Dr. Mona, this is Michelle from Washington State.

I have a question on nightmares, night terrors, and being afraid of the dark.

My daughter is 22 months old and we did similar sleep training as you did with Ryan.

She's a great sleeper, a great napper, but for the past couple of weeks, she's been waking up once

a week, screaming. She's so hard to control her, she'll fall asleep on me, but then the second I try

to go closer back in her crib, she and she's latched around my neck, her legs are wrapped around

my back and I just can't lay her down. I'm just wondering, how do I know if she's having nightmares

if that's starting to happen or if she's having night terrors? What to do? How to talk to her about it?

Also, her room is pitch black and I'm wondering if she is afraid of the dark? Is it

to introduce the night light? Anyways, I'm just hoping you can touch on this subject.

Thanks for all your help and all your content. I much appreciate it. Bye.

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