Parenting Helps | Dream Interpretation
At 4am a bedraggled 6 year old wandered in to my room, knocking about in the dark. Another “bad dream” had struck. This time I had the presence of mind amid the fog that is sleep to realize that investing some sleep time now would have a return in our relationship and for his soul.
I laid with him for a bit till the initial fright wore off then suggested we write down the dream and see what it was telling him. I’ve done this for myself very successfully on many occasions and wondered if it could be applied to children’s dreams. Also, as his bad dreams seem to have increased in frequency of late, it was partly out of self preservation. Anything to have my bed back for the morning hours!
So, off we went to the living room (dad still tucked in) to write and interpret. His dream had been vivid, and, like most all of them for him, though it scared him, it had ended well.
First I took dictation of what he remembered, asking clarifying questions to acquire colors & other details, noting the ones that he mentioned without prompting as being significant too. I will relate it here so you can see how we came up with the interpretation.
His dream reminded me of a hybrid Wild Kratts & Power Rangers episode. He heard a noise and rushed outside to find a huge tank (with five guns) attacking our home. Several “bug guys” came to his aid, gave him a super suit endowing him with “water” powers and he proceeded to attack the tank. When the attack needed reinforcements he joined with the “bug guys” and they all turned into a huge “Rock of Peace.” As the Rock of Peace, he used his water powers to destroy the enemy. The water though, flooded our house and he came back in and proceeded to rescue the family and carry us off in a car to which he attached water skis and equipped with a button for changing forms. In this, we skimmed away to safety.
Once we got the details on paper we started looking them up in some of the dream dictionaries. The main points of the dream developed a theme. He was experiencing distress and was ready for a change (noise, five, powers, water, flood, button), and, he WOULD be able to make that change (super powers, rock creature, destroyed the enemy, rescued the family).
In his waking life we had been to the park that day and he had attempted the swinging monkey bars…to no avail. He struggled, and tried, and got frustrated, and fell down… over and over again. He said he couldn’t do it, and I said he could. Try, try, try. Nothing. I had noted nonchalantly, that we needed to come back to this park soon and get him some practice on these things so he could overcome them. However… the dream told me something quite a bit more defined than my nonchalant parent note.
What it told me was that this needed to be a TOP priority in our family’s life right now. That my little one NEEDED to overcome this obstacle and needed to overcome it asap. This wasn’t something I had the option to facilitate or not, this was a core issue of self worth that if I left undone (the park was in no way within walking distance for him to conquer without assistance) could potentially miss a prime opportunity to develop strength and character. Who knew??
And so, off we went in the morning to the park. He reached the third rung. And even the fourth. He is filled with confidence! He is overcome with pride! He is beaming with joy feels like he could conquer the world. And, he hasn’t even made it across the bars yet. He knows that he can and will do it. We will return to the park for him to practice until he freely swings with the best of the monkeys. And, in the meantime, he has developed a strong piece of confidence, even just in the practicing. He knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that he can overcome whatever fears and obstacles come his way.
What a blessing to have this little insight into my son’s heart! To be able to stand by his side while he becomes the adventurer of a man he is destined to be!
May you find many hours of sweet togetherness and inspiration in your own children’s dreams, and may they always be sweet. Comment below on your child’s dreams and how you were able to encourage them through interpretation.
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