Can Babies Have Nightmares?
Can Babies Have Nightmares if they are newborn?
Yes, they do have nightmares and normal dreams, too. I found this fascinating study:
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Nightmares are thought to be most common between the ages of 3 to 5 years --the peak age for fears -- they are said to begin around that time, or shortly before. Though I don't know of any others who concur, the available evidence leads me to a vastly different conclusion: that just like other dreams, nightmares are most common long before the preschool period. Stressful events, such as injections, circumcision (which should never be done without anesthesia), being left alone or dropped, or even feeling hungry, need to be learned about and integrated. It seems to me that anything worth crying about is worth dreaming about. Knowing how much young babies dream and cry (and wake up crying), it seems equally absurd to me to believe that all of their dreams are happy ones. Birth is a wonderful and terrible experience. There is much to be happy about and much to learn about in the weeks that follow. Babies' dreams must incorporate and address those things that bring them pleasure and those that make them cry. In all likelihood, the peak age of crying, the first 6 weeks, is also the peak age of nightmares. |