The Element Encyclopedia of 20,000 Dreams: The Ultimate A–Z to Interpret the Secrets of Your Dreams. Theresa Cheung

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      MONSTERS

      Monster dreams in childhood reflect dramatically frightening things that have disturbed a child, in particular how frightening it can be for a child when the people they love and trust behave in an angry or scary way. This may be, for example, when a loving mother loses her temper or a caring dad disciplines his child. According to some psychologists, children dream of monsters because they are unwilling to believe anything bad about the people they are dependent on. If you are a parent and feel that you are reflected in monster dreams, try to encourage your child to share these dreams with you. Bear in mind that, in some instances, the monster may reflect someone else in your child’s life: a sibling, an uncle or aunt, or even a neighbor. This is particularly so among school-age children who have to meet the expectation of peers and teachers.

      PERFECT MONSTERS

      This dream is common to the middle childhood and preteen years. In the dream there is a repetitive task that needs to be performed usually at the command of monsters. The task is usually something gruesome or sinister, like digging graves or sorting body parts. The dreamer is horrified by the task but numbed by the repletion and tedium, and in the dream more likely to be upset about the workload than the actual nature of the task. This dream often reflects the stress of young children who feel they must achieve and meet standards imposed upon them. The unconscious is reminding them that the casualties of a task-orientated approach to life may be other desires, interests and feelings. Although many dreams during this stage of life reflect the joy of achievement and the desire for recognition, this dream represents the tension associated with high achievement.

      SINISTER TOYS

      Another very common childhood dream is of a toy or other harmless object, such as a book or pencil, that suddenly becomes menacing. Again such dreams can reflect tensions about situations the child find threatening or disturbing. If your child has such dreams, you may want to consider if a normal aspect of your life, for example, a camping trip or relatives visiting, is making a child feel uncertain.

      SOMETHING IN THE BEDROOM

      One of the most common dreams of early childhood is that there is something scary in the bedroom: a monster in the wardrobe or aliens in the corner of the room. A child may feel as if something or someone is coming to get them. These kinds of dreams tend to reoccur and it is easy to assume that something is upsetting the child in waking life; it is worth noting, however, that these dreams are amongst the most common in childhood, as a child reaches out to discover the world with all its excitement—and sometimes dangerous possibilities. If there is tension in the home or a lot of uncertainty and inconsistency, this can trigger stressful dreams for a child. Scary monsters tend to represent people, whereas bugs or slimy things may represent situations. You may have to be patient and gentle, and create a feeling of stability as your child learns to adjust to changes in the world around them.

      WILD ANIMAL ATTACK

      When children begin school they often dream of wild animals attacking, such as lions, bulls, alligators and bears. Wild animals tend to reflect a person or situation that is upsetting the child. For example, a child may be worried about parents who are constantly fighting, and this fear can be symbolized as a bear fight. Or a child may be frightened by a strict head teacher, who subsequently appears in their dreams as a mean lion.

      Childhood Revisited Scenarios

      It is during childhood that we learn many of the fundamental rules and responsibilities of life. It is also the time when we develop our personalities and become increasingly socialized. It makes sense, therefore, that dreams of revisiting a place or a scenario from your own childhood often focus on lessons that you learned, or failed to learn, and these lessons may be relevant to your current situation. If you dreamed of a particularly happy childhood memory—for example, you are seven years old and your dad brings home your first bike, or you are five years old sitting happily on your mum’s lap sucking your thumb—the dream could either be pointing to your nostalgia for a time when life was full of fun, or it could be more concerned with your present feelings of insecurity. The dream is reminding you of a time when life was simple, and in so doing, it compensates you for your current feelings of confusion. If you are facing a difficult decision, it could also have been highlighting your need to put yourself forward and take a risk by focusing on your new bike—something you wanted but also feared, as you weren’t wholly confident riding it yet.

      Consider, too, whether your unconscious has cast archetypal figures in the role of your mother and father. Relation-figures in dreams of childhood can often represent archetypes rather than actual family members. Alternatively, if your unhappy childhood returns to haunt you in dreams (which may reoccur), your unconscious may be forcing you to relive those miserable times in an attempt to make you confront the source of your distress and deal with it, now that you have an adult understanding of the situation. Your unconscious is trying to help you come to terms with what happened to you, so you can put it behind you.

      ACTIVITIES AND ENVIRONMENTS ASSOCIATED WITH CHILDHOOD

      Dreams about activities and environments associated with childhood can be either motivating or discouraging, depending on the details of your dream and how you felt. For example, if you had a happy time playing with your dolls or a toy train set, your dream may simply be reminding you of the simple pleasure of letting your guard down from time to time to do nothing useful but play and relax. These kinds of dreams are particularly common if you have been extremely busy recently and haven’t had time to have fun. If, however, you were bored by the toy or activity in your dream, your unconscious may be urging you to put away childish things that don’t really give you stimulation and satisfaction, and to spend your time more productively.

      Toys in dreams not only reflect your desire for more play, or urge you to grow up in some way, they can also suggest nostalgia for childhood that has been lost. Dolls are especially important because they so resemble the human form, and because children endow them with emotions and characters. Your dreaming mind may therefore use a doll to symbolize something or someone in your life. For example, if you stick needles or pins in the doll, or mistreat it in any way, this can represent negative feelings towards a particular person. Many doll dreams use the doll as a target for violence and, if this is the case, it could also refer to how the dreamer felt as a child when smacked emotionally or physically—like a helpless child. Dolls can also represent emotions that the dreamer would like to discharge on someone else, or the feeling of wanting to be a precious doll to someone. It may also express some undeveloped part of the dreamer’s personality and the need to relearn some childhood lessons we may have forgotten.

      If you dreamed that you were in a playground surrounded by other children, were you enjoying yourself or did you feel left out? If you felt exhilarated, your unconscious may once again be signaling your need to have more fun in waking life, but if you felt aloof or alone from the other children, it could suggest that you prefer to play no part in the immature behaviour currently displayed by a group of people in your waking life. See also references to toys and games in LEISURE.

       BODY

      Typically, dreams about the body, or parts of the body, occur for four reasons.

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