One of the more popular age groups to commonly have nightmares are children. Nightmares usually happen in a child between the ages of 5-8 years old.
It is important to understand the meaning of metaphors in nightmares. Metaphors
are extremely important when trying to determine what their nightmares actually
mean, and how to stop them. For example, a dream that does not completely make
sense should not be ignored. You must see how each event, person, or thing
being shown in his dream relates to their lives, in a metaphorical way of
course. The following represent a couple of the most common nightmares kids have, and some common interpretations of them.
Common Nightmares:
Flying:
- The ability to fly while being chased by a villain or evil being may represent pressure. Flying may represent their own wish to escape that pressure.
Harmless animal turns menacing:
-Another common nightmare children have would be seeing themselves play or pet a harmless animal, which then turns menacing. This is where the child may be struggling with some situation or person that is usually a nice and kind person, but may sometimes seem inexplicably harsh. Or it could mean they were dealing with something that may seem okay at some times, but occasionally seems to turn against them.
The Witch:
- A very popular character that has become an icon for being a villain in many stories is the witch. If a child dreams this he or she could be replacing the witch with a person in real life, similar to dreaming of monsters.
Bugs:
-Bugs are also something they dream of commonly. This happens when the child is experiencing unpredictable situations, such has a separation in the marriage or moving to a new home. This type of situation is usually seen as scary to the child because he is not able to control it in any way.
Falling into a never ending hole:
-The feeling of falling down into a never ending hole has a few interpretations as well. These dreams are what psychologists believe are more likely to happen when small things in their life begin to mount up or when stability feels somehow shaky.
Loosing all of their teeth:
-If they dream of having all of their teeth fall out means that they are going through lots on anxiety, or could be worrying about their self-image.