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What is a Nightmare?

A nightmare is a bad dream that usually involves some imagined danger or threat to the child. The child may dream about danger or a scary situation. Nightmares may involve disturbing themes, images, or figures such as monsters, ghosts, animals, or bad people. Loss of control and fear of injury are common themes. Children do not usually cry out or move around while they are having a nightmare. When the child wakes up, he or she calms down and remembers what the dream was about.

Nightmares are different from night terrors. Children with night terrors experience episodes of extreme panic. They are confused and often cry out and move around. During a night terror, waking the child is difficult, and the child often does not remember the dream that caused the terror.