Sleep - what to do about nightmares and fear at night for 7 year old?

[Goingdownthegarden]

I just read the chat thread about sleep being so important and all problems being caused by the lack of sleep. My problem is that dd wakes up without fail every single night because she is afraid.
She is afraid of burglars and a lot of it seems to be non-descript fear. She has never slept through the night (since she was born). So maybe fear is an excuse. But when I was 7, I can remember being completely terrified at night - about anything and everything. Mainly about my parents getting a horrible disease and dying. It is horrible to be so scared at night. So usually dd either comes into my bed or I go and cuddle her in her bed. This is probably really just prolonging the habit of waking in the night.
What should I do? I do think it is very bad for her as she has problems with concentration and these could be due to lack of sleep. At least dh is seriously fed up of her coming into our bed at night.

My dd is 7 and we have some kids meditation CDs to help her sleep. If she wakes up in the night - she just starts it again. They are very soothing and the sound of the ladies voice stops her feeling anxious. We have 3 Christianne Kerr CDs and the Faerie one by Michell Roberton-Jones. She's loved all of them.

I had terrible night terrors as a child myself.

DS is only 2.5 but wakes sometimes terrified. I had nightmares for a long time as a child and git told to just go back to bed. I still remember the fear of lying there and so think you're doing the right thing by responding to her fears.

Is it worth putting a music cd near her bed to listen to if she wakes afraid. Or as above try some relaxation techniques. There are yoga classes for kids which may be good. Or maybe some sort of martial art may make her feel stronger?

Hope she feels better soon, it's really hard.

Thanks both for those ideas. I´m also relieved that you think I am doing the right thing responding to her fears. I do feel guilty that we never managed to get her to sleep through the night. We tried controlled crying when she was little to no avail. Perhaps it was that that has caused this fear at night?? But, my mum never did controlled crying with me so I don´t think so. Still, I feel bad that we somehow have not enabled her to self-soothe in the night.
The music and relaxation cds sound like a good idea. She loves cds altogether so that will go down well.
Thanks!