The Meaning Behind Nightmares Involving Children

Nightmares are often unsettling, especially when they involve children. These vivid night terrors can leave us feeling anxious, allowing our minds to spiral into a web of worries. Dreams of a child caught in a nightmare may evoke deep emotional responses and can often symbolize the vulnerabilities we perceive in the younger generations in our lives.

In many cultures, including Islamic tradition, children in dreams represent new beginnings, innocence, and the essence of our own futures. When they enter nightmarish scenes, it may signify our fears surrounding their safety, well-being, or personal growth. As caregivers, these dreams may reflect our anxieties about our ability to protect and guide them amid an increasingly chaotic world.

By exploring these dreams, we can delve into the underlying emotions that shape our relationships with our loved ones and ourselves.

• Dreaming of a child in a nightmare often symbolizes deep emotional concerns and parental anxieties.
• Such dreams can reflect unresolved fears about the well-being of loved ones.
• Nightmares can serve as a call for reflection and action in nurturing relationships.

Symbols

• terror
  • Suppression:

    (Oppression; Suppression; Tyranny) Terrorizing others or oppressing them in a dream denotes a mental sickness, depression, psychological weak¬ ness, or actions that will bring their author closer to hell-fire. Terrorizing others in a dream represents one’s own losses and humiliation. Terrorizing people in a dream also means poverty, loss of business, a severe illness, or it could represent profits that will turn into losses.

  • Terror:
  • Khawf:

    (arb. Fear. See Five times prayers)

• kid
  • Gems of the eyes:

    (Children)

  • Little boy:

    (Little boy) In a dream, a child carried in one’s arms means responsibility, distress and difficulties. A teenage child represents glad tidings or dispelling one’s worries. If one sees a beautiful looking teenage child entering a town or descending from the skies or appearing from beneath the ground in a dream, it means that the glad tidings will take effect shortly.

    Seeing a mature child in a dream means power and superiority. If one sees himself as a child learning in school in a dream, it means that he will repent of a common sin he is used to commit. If one sees one of the renowned people of knowledge sitting in a kindergarten and learning along with other children in a dream, it means that he will shift to ignorance, lose his rank, or that financial changes will affect his living conditions.

    If one sees himself receiving instructions like a child in a dream, it means that he will receive an inheritance from his mother. If one sees himself as a newborn child in a dream, it means that he will become wealthy and prosper. If a young boy sees himself in a dream as a child, it has a negative meaning.

    If a sick person sees himself as a child in a dream, it means his death. If one sees himself as a child being reprimanded in a dream, it means that he will be conquered. In a dream, if one looks in a mirror and sees his face to be that of a child, and if his wife is pregnant, it means that she will beget a son who will look like his father.

    Carrying a baby child in a dream means distress and burdens. A child in a dream represents a weak enemy who sometime shows friendliness and at other times demonstrates his enmity. If one sees that his wife has just delivered children who are playing around him in a dream, it means distress or misfortune and the consequences could be either good or bad.

    Carrying a child in a dream means managing an inheritance or a financial investment. If an elderly person sees himself roaming as a little child in a dream, it means that he will commit an act of ignorance or lose his dignity, ideals or sense of honor. On the other hand, if such an elderly person who sees himself in a dream as a little child is suffering from depression or financial difficulties or health problems, then it means relief from distress and good health and that he will become free from his sins, like the day his mother gave birth to him.

    If one sees that he has a little child who disdains from coming near his father in the dream, it means financial promotion and enjoyment of one’s life. If one sees a little child screaming in his lap in a dream, it means that he plays a string instrument. Children in a dream also could mean either sorrow and pain or happiness and joy.

    If they are one’s own children in the dream, then they mean temptation with money. Children in a dream also could mean contentment with little or loss of one’s means to earn his livelihood or they could mean money or marriage or a flourishing business. Bereavement of a child in a dream means the opposite in real life.

    It also means rejoicing, reunions, pleasures and earning respect. Bereavement of a child in a dream is sometimes interpreted to portray an intention of one’s children or wife to separate from the family. A little male child in a dream represents worries, responsibilities, hard work, catering to ignorant people or dealing with trivial and time wasting people.

    If a prisoner sees himself carrying a little girl in his dream, it means that he will be released from his prison. If one who is going through hard times sees himself holding a little girl in a dream, it means that his adversities will be lifted. If he is poor, it means that he will thrive for success and the little girl then represents his glad tidings.

  • Young boy:

    (Young boy) Seeing a young boy in a dream means receiving glad tidings. Begetting a boy in a dream means worries, burdens or sickness, while giving birth to a girl in a dream means relief from distress or easing of one’s difficulties. Carrying a young boy in a dream means carrying burdens.

    Giving birth to a boy in a dream also could mean having a helper. A beautiful looking young boy in a dream also signifies good luck and victory over one’s enemy. Seeing a beautiful looking boy in a dream means that beautiful and pleasant things will take place in one’s life, or it could mean satisfying one’s needs.

    If one is called a teenager in a dream, it signifies the necessity to take a ritual ablution, or that something good or bad may take place in wakefulness.

• youngster
  • Teenage boy:

    (Teenage boy) An unknown young man in a dream represents an enemy. If the young man is known in the dream, then whatever strength, harshness, weaknesses, deceit, perfidy, or character he displays, they denote the same character in wakefulness. Walking behind an unknown young man in a dream means pursuing one’s enemy and conquering him.

    If one meets an unknown young man whom he dislikes in a dream, it means that such an enemy will surface and people will abhor him. If one happens to like him in the dream, then it means that he will face an enemy whom most people like and sympathize with. If a young man sees himself turned into an old person in a dream, it means that he will suffer major losses in his life.

    Ayoung man or a teenager in a dream mostly represents an enemy, for a teenager rarely respects or heeds the advice of his peers. A young man in a dream also represents deceit, betrayal, energy, or stubbornness, though he also could represent blessings and gratitude.

  • Pubescence:
  • Teenage girl:

    (Teenage girl) A young girl in a dream represents an enemy however she may look. Seeing a well dressed and pleasingly adorned young woman in a dream means hearing pleasing news coming from an unexpected person. Seeing a young and a beautiful looking female servant in a dream means blessings, a favor, joy and festivities.

    In a dream, seeing an unknown young girl is more advantageous than seeing a known one. The strongest in meaning are those teenage girls who are presentable, well mannered and beautifully dressed. If she is seen dressed with modesty in the dream, then she represents goodness, chastity, discreteness, and following the correct religious conduct.

    If she adorns herself and plays up her charms in the dream, then such goodness will be public. If a young girl sees herself as an old woman in a dream, it means that she will live with modesty and preserve her chastity. If an old woman sees herself turned young again in the dream, it means regaining her strength, sexual desire and fertility.

    If she engages in lawful sexual intercourse in marriage, it denotes strong religious adherence. If she engages in sexual intercourse with someone without marriage in the dream, then her dream represents her love for the world and attachment to its glitters. If one sees an old woman turned young in a dream, then the above explanation becomes stronger.

    However, if one is poor, it means that her basic needs will be secured. If one has lost her chances in this world, it means that she will have a new opportunity, or if she is sick, it means that she will recover from her illness. Seeing a young girl frowning in a dream means that one may hear disturbing news.

    If she looks emaciated, then one’s dream denotes poverty. If she is naked in the dream, it means business losses and defamation. Marrying a virgin teenage girl in a dream means wealth.

• bad dream
  • Nakedness:

    In a dream, it means belligerence and injustice.

  • Scowling:

    (Frowning) Scowling in a dream connotes a misfortune.

  • Damage:

    If one suffers a damage in a dream, it means dismay, horror, a scare, a shock or a menace. Complaining about a damage or a loss one suffers in a dream means attaining one’s goal in wakefulness.

• nightmare
  • Nakedness:

    In a dream, it means belligerence and injustice.

  • Moonless night:

    (Darkness; Heedlessness; Ignorance) In a dream, a moonless night represents lack of work, stagnation, or losing one’s job. If one sees the whole world in the dark and the moon is still radiant in the skies in a dream, it means that the governor will temporarily relinquish his entire duties to his chief minister or secretary, and that thieves and robbers will cluster around them for business. If one then sees the daylight in his dream, it means that such an adversity will pass.

    If people are under siege in the dream and the daylight dawns after a long dark night in a dream, it means that their siege will be lifted. If people are suffering from high prices and someone sees that dream, it means that prices will go back to normal. If they are suffering from tyranny, it too will pass.

    The night in a dream also means marital relations, while the day means separation between them. In a dream, the darkness of night also represents heedlessness and particularly if one witnesses thunder and lightning in his dream. Seeing a complete darkness inside one’s house in a dream means taking a long journey.

    The night and the day in a dream represent two adverse rulers, or two competitors or adversaries. The night in a dream also represents an atheist, while the day in a dream represents a believer. The night in a dream also signifies comfort and rest, while the day means toiling and hardships.

    In a dream, the night also means sexual pleasures, while the day means divorce or separation. The night in a dream signifies economic stagnation, while the day means business, travels and hypocrisy. If the night in a dream is interpreted to represent the ocean, then the day means land.

    The night in a dream also means death, while the day represents life and resurrection. The night and the day together may represent the two guardian angels who record each person’s deeds and who are God’s witnesses. If a sick person sees the dawn in a dream, it means that he will recover from his illness, or die from it.

    If he is imprisoned, it means that he will be released. If he is a sinner, it means that he will repent for his sins. If he is a merchant and his business is not moving, it means that his merchandise will be finally sold.

    The nightfall at the end of the day in a dream also could mean the opposite. Seeing the night in a dream also denotes constant changes in one’s life, poverty, hunger, starvation, or death. The night and the day in a dream also represent wisdom and protocols, or indulging in something one will regret.

    The nightfall in a dream also may denote changing times, or changing trends. The night in a dream also could represent an African woman, while the day may represent a Caucasian woman, or a pregnant woman. The night in a dream also represents the evening gown, while the day represents work.

    The night in a dream also means veiling one’s difficulties and taking refuge in a safe place, except if the one seeing the dream is a traveller, then the night in his dream means injustice and ignorance. The night in a dream also 304 IBN SEERIN’S denotes devotion, holding a night vigil, attaining one’s goal, or meeting with one’s beloveds.

  • Terror:
• child
  • Little boy:

    (Little boy) In a dream, a child carried in one’s arms means responsibility, distress and difficulties. A teenage child represents glad tidings or dispelling one’s worries. If one sees a beautiful looking teenage child entering a town or descending from the skies or appearing from beneath the ground in a dream, it means that the glad tidings will take effect shortly.

    Seeing a mature child in a dream means power and superiority. If one sees himself as a child learning in school in a dream, it means that he will repent of a common sin he is used to commit. If one sees one of the renowned people of knowledge sitting in a kindergarten and learning along with other children in a dream, it means that he will shift to ignorance, lose his rank, or that financial changes will affect his living conditions.

    If one sees himself receiving instructions like a child in a dream, it means that he will receive an inheritance from his mother. If one sees himself as a newborn child in a dream, it means that he will become wealthy and prosper. If a young boy sees himself in a dream as a child, it has a negative meaning.

    If a sick person sees himself as a child in a dream, it means his death. If one sees himself as a child being reprimanded in a dream, it means that he will be conquered. In a dream, if one looks in a mirror and sees his face to be that of a child, and if his wife is pregnant, it means that she will beget a son who will look like his father.

    Carrying a baby child in a dream means distress and burdens. A child in a dream represents a weak enemy who sometime shows friendliness and at other times demonstrates his enmity. If one sees that his wife has just delivered children who are playing around him in a dream, it means distress or misfortune and the consequences could be either good or bad.

    Carrying a child in a dream means managing an inheritance or a financial investment. If an elderly person sees himself roaming as a little child in a dream, it means that he will commit an act of ignorance or lose his dignity, ideals or sense of honor. On the other hand, if such an elderly person who sees himself in a dream as a little child is suffering from depression or financial difficulties or health problems, then it means relief from distress and good health and that he will become free from his sins, like the day his mother gave birth to him.

    If one sees that he has a little child who disdains from coming near his father in the dream, it means financial promotion and enjoyment of one’s life. If one sees a little child screaming in his lap in a dream, it means that he plays a string instrument. Children in a dream also could mean either sorrow and pain or happiness and joy.

    If they are one’s own children in the dream, then they mean temptation with money. Children in a dream also could mean contentment with little or loss of one’s means to earn his livelihood or they could mean money or marriage or a flourishing business. Bereavement of a child in a dream means the opposite in real life.

    It also means rejoicing, reunions, pleasures and earning respect. Bereavement of a child in a dream is sometimes interpreted to portray an intention of one’s children or wife to separate from the family. A little male child in a dream represents worries, responsibilities, hard work, catering to ignorant people or dealing with trivial and time wasting people.

    If a prisoner sees himself carrying a little girl in his dream, it means that he will be released from his prison. If one who is going through hard times sees himself holding a little girl in a dream, it means that his adversities will be lifted. If he is poor, it means that he will thrive for success and the little girl then represents his glad tidings.

  • Gems of the eyes:

    (Children)

  • Greenhouse:

    (Greenhouse; Hotbed) In a dream, a nursery represents profits, annual return or a fertile woman. Owning or attending a nursery in a dream means victory, prosperity, marriage, acquiring knowledge, training in arts, or repent¬ ing from sin and harvesting the fruits of one’s repentance. If the fruits of one’s plants turn into gold or silver in one’s dream, it means either benefits, profits, or that a disease will impair the growth of one’s plants, or it could mean unsalability of one’s crop.

Navigating and Understanding Your Child's Nightmares

• Create a Safe Space for Discussion

  When children have nightmares, it's vital to foster an open environment where they can express their feelings and fears without judgment. Discussing their dreams allows them to process their emotions and reassures them that they are not alone. As a parent or guardian, ask them about the dream in a calm manner: 'What were the scary parts?

  How did it make you feel?' Listen attentively and validate their feelings. This can not only help them feel understood but also empower them to confront their fears, potentially diminishing the impact of such nightmares in the future.

• Encourage Healthy Sleep Habits

  Establishing a healthy bedtime routine can significantly impact the quality of your child's sleep and reduce nightmares. Make the bedroom a soothing sanctuary free from harsh lights and noises. Engaging in calming activities such as reading from a joyful book or practicing gentle breathing exercises before bedtime can help your child unwind and feel secure.

  As consistent habits take root, children are more likely to experience restful sleep, impacting their emotional health positively and potentially minimizing negative dream experiences.

• Seek Professional Help if Necessary

  If your child's nightmares persist, leading to significant anxiety or distress, it may be wise to consult a sleep specialist or a child psychologist. Professionals can offer valuable insights and coping strategies. They can evaluate if there are underlying issues contributing to recurrent nightmares, such as stress, anxiety, or past experiences.

  Early intervention can often lead to improved sleep patterns and emotional well-being for your child, making it essential to take these concerns seriously.

FAQs

• What does it mean when I dream of a child experiencing a nightmare?

  Dreaming of a child in a nightmare often suggests your subconscious fears regarding their safety and well-being. This reflection might also indicate anxiety about your parenting or concerns about external pressures affecting them. In many interpretations, such dreams serve as an invitation to pay attention to emotional growth and nurturing relationships.

• Could dreaming of a child in a nightmare indicate issues in my own life?

  Yes, dreaming of a child in distress can symbolize unresolved feelings within yourself, reflecting your own fears or insecurities. This could pertain to your experiences from childhood or your feelings of helplessness in controlling certain aspects of your life. Taking time to introspect can help in addressing these underlying issues.

• How can I help my child if they are having nightmares?

  Providing comfort and encouraging open communication is crucial. Talk with your child about their dreams, validate their feelings, and help them understand that nightmares are common. Establishing a safe nighttime routine can also create a comforting environment, easing their fears and improving their sleep quality.

• Are nighttime fears common in children?

  Absolutely, nighttime fears and nightmares are common as children's imaginations develop. As they navigate understanding the world, they may encounter scary thoughts or scenarios. Educating them on these fears and providing a supportive environment is key to their emotional development and sleep hygiene.

• Should I be concerned if my child has frequent nightmares?

  If your child frequently has nightmares that affect their sleep or daily functioning, it might warrant a consultation with a healthcare professional. Anxiety, stress, or significant changes in life can contribute to such dreams, and gauging their emotional health will be essential for their overall relationships and sleep satisfaction.

References