Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Dream Catcher

When Tai was about 3 or 4 years old he started talking about having bad dreams at night and asking us to buy him a dreamcatcher.  Minh and I figured it was a phase that would pass and we did not run out and buy him one right away.

Shortly thereafter we found ourselves on vacation in Maine, in a cute little gift shop with lots of odds and ends for sale.  And there it was, hanging in the front window -- a small, beaded, reasonably-priced dreamcatcher.  Tai spotted it and of course asked us to get it for him.  We did, and it has been hanging over his bed ever since.  It was the very last thing we packed when we moved, and it was hung up over his bed in his new room before he went to sleep the very first night in the new house.

And now Quynh is three-and-a-half and telling us every night at bedtime that she's afraid to go to sleep because she'll have bad dreams.  Some nights she is weepy and scared, other nights she is angry and belligerent.  All because she is certain the Big Bad Wolf is lurking right outside her bedroom door.

Without us even asking, Tai has been trying to help her through this.  Last week he gave her a picture he drew at school to hang up by her bed and look at while she falls asleep.  And then just the other night, as bedtime approached and Quynh became nervous, Tai suddenly announced, "Quynh can have my dreamcatcher."

Minh moved the talisman from above Tai's bed to above Quynh's bed and we all praised Tai for his kindness and generosity.  Tai stated out loud, in front of Quynh, "And I won't even be scared."  Then he whispered in my ear, "I think they just make that up so kids won't be scared."

The dreamcatcher is having the same impact on Quynh as it did on Tai -- she has now gone to bed peacefully two nights in a row.  Made up or not, it works for my kids.  Hopefully in a couple years Quynh will outgrow her need for it and pass it on some other preschooler who needs it.







1 comment:

Ungi said...

What an awesome kid :)