What's wrong with my 6 yr old???

Question

he has always been an anxious child and can be sensitive but lately he has been upset every night and having dreams about tigers or werewolves chasing him! he was having trouble at school with behaviour but that has been sorted and he has been doing really well so i just want to get to know what he is thinking and why he is unhappy...does anyone know of any ways to find out other than sitting down and asking him???

Answer 1

i was a six year old once, i made stuff up and was very cocky

he might be the "bully" at school no effence

Answer 2

You should look up some stuff on dream imagery which will help explain his dreams, they're not always exactly what they seem to mean.

"Tiger

To see a tiger in your dream,  represents power and your ability to exert it in various situations. The dream may also indicate that you to take more of a leadership role. Alternatively, the tiger represents female sexuality, aggression, and seduction.  

To dream that you are attacked by a tiger, symbolizes repressed feelings or emotions that frighten you.

To see a caged tiger in your dream,  suggests that your repressed feelings/emotions are on the verge of surfacing"

"Werewolf

To see a werewolf in your dream, indicates that something in your life is not what it seems.�It is symbolic of fear, repressed anger, and uncontrollable violence.

To dream that you are a werewolf, suggests that some aspects of your personality are hurtful and even dangerous to your own well-being. You are headed down an undesirable path. Alternatively, it refers to your repressed instincts. "

Answer 3

Did he recently see a scary movie or show on TV?  It may be in his mind, and bothering him when he goes to bed.

Answer 4

What kind of TV is he watching?  You might also want to see what kind of kids he's hanging out with at school.

Answer 5

It sounds like he's being bullied at school. He's too young to be able to explain it, so talk to his teacher and maybe even put a secret audio recorder in his backpack like one family did with their daughter.

Answer 6

Talk to the twin brother,maybe he'll know whats up.

Answer 7

Maybe someone told him something that scared him or he could have seen something on tv.

Answer 8

My kids really liked the book "Prudence's Good Night Book" by Alona Frankel. It talks about why a child needs sleep and also good and bad dreams.

Both of my kids worry a lot. We try to talk about any thing they are worrying about before bed. Also my youngest is always worrying about what will happen the next day. So we have put a calendar on our pantry door at her eye level with everything labeled. PE, dance, anything that involves her is on it. And it really helps her, she can check it when ever she is worried or overwhelmed with the what will I be doing or will I have enough time. I must say my kids went through a phase of intense worrying and it made me so worried about their mental state, but it was a phase that passed in about 6 months as I learned ways to help them cope with what worried them. Hang in there he will be fine with a lot of love and reassurance.

I don't know why you would not want to sit him down and talk to him though, that has been key with my kids and it is important the older they get that they learn to come to you with worries and questions regarding school and everything else. Sometimes I just bring it up casually as we are playing a board game or something and they tend to spill the beans a lot more than if we just sit down to talk.

Answer 9

Why don't you want to talk to him about it? That's probably the best way to find out... Maybe he's upset that you are IGNORING him?

Answer 10

it just a faze i wouldn't worry about it. My little brother at that age had a nightmare about big bird chasing a bunny and  had like the same one over and over again for like a week but he was fine so don't worry bout it.

                                 Good luck!

Answer 11

I have an 8 year old that has been like that since he was about 4 years old.  Last night for example was VERY windy and he was scared of the windows blowing in.  He gets really frightened when there's a thunderstorm as well.  And just the other day he had a friend over night who filled my son in on ALL the details about the Chainsaw Masacre.  I was so mad at this kid and even MORE upset with his parents for allowing him to watch such awful movies especially at that age.  It took alot to convince my son that no one was going to come here with a chainsaw and terrorize him.  

I am convinced that he gets his anxiousness from me (although I don't tell him that many things frighten me as well)  All I can really do and suggest to you is to have alot of patience and empathy for his feelings as the result of the situation he is feeling anxious about.  Good luck and email me if you wish...we should start a support group or something for this...as much as I LOVE my son, it can be frustrating when at times there is just no helping his anxiousness.  In a way I am lucky to experience the same feelings, so that I can relate to him and know EXACTLY how he is feeling.   I just wish that I could calm his fears every time...

Take Care!

P.S. I just seen your comment that your son seems to worry about everything, so does MY SON!

Answer 12

This sounds like acting out.  Finding the reason why can be difficult because 6 year olds can't always communicate how they feel and why.    The dreams seems like a manifestation of feeling threatened.   This could also be an extension of the behavior at school.  

Look at his environment from his eyes.   What is the environment at home like (stable, dramatic, sad, busy)?  What is school like  (stressful, teasing, teacher-problems?   Is TV or video games involved?  

If you can't figure it out, see a social worker who specialized in young children.  We did this when my daughter was having problems at school and at home and it really worked.

Answer 13

maybe talk to his teacher and before he sleeps try to make him think about positive things because i know that if you start to fall asleep and you think about scary things you'll have bad dreams.

Answer 14

i would ask him to explain his dream in detail. then you can kinda analyze it yourself and figure out what he is afraid of.  say if the tiger is chasing him then maybe there is a kid at school that he is trying to get away from.  if the tiger is attaching him he may feel that he is helpless against something.

Answer 15

Just give him lots of hugs before bed and pray with him.

God's peace will truly help him!