Toddler and bad dreams, again.

For some reason, Caitlin seems to be having bad dreams again lately.

I would have thought given we are all back home now for a few weeks already, and also with the Chinese New Year festivities since then being a positive distraction, that she shouldn’t have anymore real reasons to be in any sort of negative frame of mind.

But at nights, she does still make some exclamations of “I don’t want I don’t want“. It’s nothing serious- she doesn’t wake up screaming or anything like that, just that I would prefer she sleeps right through, or at least a sleep with not-negative dreams.

And she remembers these episodes too. Cos at nights when I am putting her to bed, recalling these episodes actually drives her to tears. This is a kid who doesn’t cry much (sans serious hurt, like when Daddee wasn’t paying attention while trying out new bicycle helmets at the store, and pinched her neck-skin with the fastener! OUCH)

And apparently for her there is an elixir to solve this dilemma. A few times already when already in bed waiting for sleep (largely the waiting is on my part), to mitigate this she has requested for some fresh milk. As to how fresh milk, to her, is a bad-dream chase-away-er I don’t know. So, if she’s recently just had her milk-formula feed, I’d refuse her. But at other times I have relented and poured her half a cup just to hopefully psychologically appease her. After all, aren’t dreams a psychological after-effect?

Perhaps she has found her comfort food?

I gotta watch this, ‘cos too much comfort food is only going put her in higher risk of (possibly) being overweight later in her life. I for one know this too well; I was a rather chubby adolescent and have been carrying this “burden” even until now. I don’t call myself overweight, but I have always been on the “meaty” side all my life. Like a typical parent’s expectations for their kids, this isn’t something I wish for my kids.