I feel like a monster!!!!

[gr8kids]

My DS is 5 and having really bad nightmares about the grinch. Yeah I know it's mad. He doesn't watch it either. So yesterday I checked online and found a video of how they did the make up for the grinch and showed him, to reassure him that it's a person with a costume on and not real. But these nightmares have being going on for a few nights and I lost it for the tenth time last night when he was screaming the house awake for me again. Even after I had done all I could to reassure him, and I went mental at him. I got so angry. I didn't hit him but I shouted at him. How could I have been so horrible. I know it's not his fault. There is no excuse for how upset I got with him I'm a shit mother!!!!!! I want to go get him from school and beg for his forgiveness and explain how wrong I was to get upset with him about something out of his control.

So it must only be me that's ever behaved this way???? Talk about feeling crap, well now I feel even worse

I know how you feel and being woken a lot at night could turn Mary Poppins into a screaming pyscho. Lots of cuddles when he gets home. Hopefully its just another stage and he will grow out of it. We all have our breaking point. Can he not sleep with you tonight, see if that helps, not ideal long term but you do need a good sleep. Good luck OP

I've done stuff like this. I'm not proud but we are only human.
Don't give yourself a hard time about it.
Lots of sympathy coming your way.

Thank you for your message Nelly. I was seriously started to think that only I could be that bad of a mother. Yes lots and lots of cuddles when he gets home. I might stay with him for a bit in his bed tonight till he settles. Not sure him getting into our bed will help, with DH snoring that might make it worse ha ha.

oh, poor you, no yo are not a crap mother, just a tired one!

can you unpack the nightmares with him a bit? What is scary etc, and then ask him what he would like to do to the Grinch and then do it (act it out in some way)

You could also try choosing one of his teddies to be SuperTed and he can fight off the Grinch and then that teddy sleeps on his bed keeping the Grinch away.

try also a night light, and go in when you go to bed and disturb his sleep a bit, this breaks the sleep cycle, so he dreams won't start so quickly.

Don't know if any of that is any good, but please don't feel crap, tiredness is a killer

Thank you everyone. Was in tears earlier. Feeling a bit better now. Just want him home now, so I can say sorry.

Two things I find help chase tigers in the night away.
First ensuring the DC is properly awake.
Send them to the loo, give them a drink. Properly distract them.

Second send them to sleep with a happy vision in their heads.

DD had a poster of a white horse on the beach above her bed so we used to make up riding through the waves and playing on the beach stories. Absolutely no mention of the T word or stripes.

Now the daft child has a toy tiger she uses to attack her dad, all these fears shall pass.

Aw gr8, glad you feel a bit better. Ds2 is waking mega early at the moment, so I'm snapping a lot, the guilt is just overwhelming, I think we all want to be supermum and that's just not possible with lifes other pressures. Oh and you have my full sympathies re your snoring Dh, I have one of those too