Nightmare about school?

Question

My six year old son had a nightmare last week - he was on a school trip, and a man with a gun was hiding in the sea. This man kept popping up and shooting at them. One of the teachers was shot, and they all had to leave her body on the beach and get the bus back to school to escape.

It was very vivid, and it is still bothering him. Should I be worried?

Answer 1

I have a six year old daughter who had similar dreams about either one of her friends being shot by a teacher, or bad men lining them up in the lunch room and shooting them all. I finally figured out that they are having "lock down" drills at school and right before the dreams started the had a real one because one of the teachers had a heart attach and they locked down the school to keep the kids out of the way of the paramedics. During a drill the kids have to line up and sit down by a wall, they lock the door, turn out the lights, have black paper cover the window in the door and draw the shades so it is dark in the room. My daughter told me all of this after the dreams and I was questioning her about what she had seen on TV ect. This practice was scarring the kids and at 6 the have a very vivid imagination. I called the councilor at school and told her about the dream and that my daughter did not feel safe in school and needed some reassurance. She met with my daughter and they talked about the dreams and lock down and how that is to keep them safe like a fire drill and that she is very safe in school. She has not had a dream since. I would give that a try. I hope this helps. Prayers are with you.

Answer 2

I don't think you have anything to worry about. Because the dream was so vivid, and so realistic in his head, it keeps popping up in his mind. It will fade in time. I still remember dreams that I had of guys shooting at me.... they are scary - so hopefully it just will fade and just be a memory..... good luck! ♥

Answer 3

I wuold not be especially worried but clearly your little boy needs alot of reassurance.It is the job of a teacher to help all children-not to brand them as troublemakers at such a tender age.I would have a long chat with her about your son and his needs.

Answer 4

You shouldn't be worried, some people are just vivid dreamers (like me).  All my dreams have weird complicated plots.  It sounds like his dream means something like he feels he lacks control over a situation (interaction with his teacher) and doesn't know what to expect.  He has to abandon hope of salvaging the situation and protect himself.

Just my armchair dream intepretation.  He is stressed about school.  You should meet with the teacher and see what behaviors she is seeing that is making her label him as a troublemaker.  Address the behaviors the best you can (remember he is only 6, so there is a limit to his self-control) and see how it goes.  The vividness of the dream will eventually fade as long as you listen to him talk about it when he needs to and give him lots of support.

Answer 5

Has he been watching something he shouldn't have?

take him to your GP if your worried

Answer 6

Best to turn off the evening news when he is around....

:-(

Answer 7

Just because you limit what he sees at home he still goes to school and will hear a lot there and although sad school shootings has been happening more and more.

The first step I would take is to talk to his teacher and see if anyone had discussed anything that might have caused it.  Then I would call and get him into a child councelor and let them listen to him talk and see if maybe their is an underlying issue you are not aware of.  If the teacher is saying he is the trouble maker then maybe he just has an active imagination and needs a way of letting some of it out or he could possibly be add or adhd.

Six is young to be having these concerns with shootings but that is society and the times we live in and our kids are the ones paying the price.

Answer 8

Wow - my school nightmares used to be about pop quizzes and shrinking clothes---- this is a very sad testament to our times.  If the dream is recurrent and he shows an unwillingness to attend school, or if his scholastic and social development are impacted than you may want to consult a professional.  Dreams like this are just the unconsious mind attempting to resolve issues that nag at our conscious level. Make sure that your son knows he can voice any of his school fears or worries to you and that you work to keep his anxieties to a minimum.  I can't tell you how sorry I am that your child, and any child is now confronted with the realities of school violence and guns.  It is unimagineable and so disheartening.  Good luck to you and your son.