Doc Health Plan -It is common knowledge that what children watch on television or videos affect their behavior. But do you know that even sleep, something that they do not have conscious control over, can be affected?
Although children normally go through night awakenings regularly, especially for younger kids, experts indicate a difference between these natural awakenings and what they call “night terrors.” Interestingly, most parenting books tell parents that when their children experience these night terrors frequently, they should consult their pediatrician.
Night terrors are characterized by rough awakenings in the night wherein the child wakes up crying and takes a long time, if at all, to be comforted. Sometimes the child will actually be awake, other times he may appear to be asleep but crying incessantly. Parents who are familiar with their child’s crying patterns may notice that the cry does not seem to be one of familiar cause, such as the usual hunger, pain, or needing company; instead, trained ears may notice that the cry sounds more like an unknown fear.
Some parenting books even go on to say that the cause of such night terrors is unknown. This gives parents little solace, especially when they experience the nightly disturbance to sleep with no idea how to comfort the little ones.
Do you know that the media that your children are exposed to can actually contribute to these night terrors? This is especially true for children below six years old, as studies prove that children of this age range are incapable of distinguishing between reality and fantasy. As such, mystical creatures that you may easily shrug off as not true may not be as impossible for your little one. It will therefore be no surprise when your little one tells you that he had a nightmare filled with dragons and monsters and other things that you know are not real.
Knowing this might help you to make wiser media choices for your children. Various experts have proven that children naturally desire beautiful and good things. This is a good starting point. Instead of struggling to undo the damage done by negative media, perhaps a better way would be to infuse your child’s media exposure with beautiful things, such as happy movies, cartoons with love as the main theme, and similar things. Some Christian families have observed the decreased occurrence of nightmares among their children when they have switched to Bible-based stories, which after all, tell them about a God who loves them and is for them. Some children also enjoy a good night’s sleep when they have happy bedtime stories told them, especially of stories that show how a hero is always looking out for their good and takes care of the big bad wolf and the dragon.
Of course, these days, it is hardly possible to screen everything your child watches, especially with the Internet being an easy access. Still, when you know how these media can cause night terrors, you might not be quite so passive about making sure your child gets a daily feeding of positive media. In addition to infusing stories into your child’s daily schedule, music can also play a role. Christian families also report that exposure to worship music at a young age causes young children to report having happy dreams of a God who loves them instead of nightmares of monsters and demons.
Now that you know how media can affect your children’s sleep, you will most likely be interested in finding more choices of videos and stories that will be beneficial to your children in the long run. After all, if you love your kids enough to give them healthy food, you will also likely want to give them a healthy feeding for their minds, as this will have greater repercussions for their lives much more than healthy eating habits.
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