3 year old scared and upset at bedtime

[HaveYouSeenMyHat]

My DS woke with a bad dream last night. He was very upset but eventually went back off to sleep. This morning he remembered and was talking about it.

He went down in bed for a nap fine this afternoon but was suddenly v worried and upset at bedtime. I'm currently sat outside his room with the door slightly open. Every time I think he's asleep and gently shut the door, he cries.

He usually goes straight off to sleep almost as soon as we put him down, so this is quite a change. We've never had this issue with our older DC so I'm wondering what to do for the best.

Anyone been in this situation? Thanks.

This happened with my now 4 year old dd. It's not fun for anyone. I've been woken in the early hours while she recounted every detail of her dream. It sounds odd but the only thing that gave her comfort was a toy that changed colour like a teddy with gentle light changes it actually worked for her but no idea why. Other than that trying not to appear worried so they don't feed off our anxiety may help, sounds like it could be a start of the night terrors which are usually short lived. Hope it gets better soon.

Thank you Phoenix .

I'm wondering if some sort of light might help, for the distraction more than anything else.

He was awake really early this morning so was exhausted after being up so late last night. Poor little chap .

It can't make it any worse and there are some great ones to choose from, perhaps he'd like to choose one? I really feel for you, you're both exhausted! Good luck 💐