My husbands son, who was 3 at the time, would suffer from nightmares throughout the night. It was incredibly sad to watch this little boy wake up to these dreams and it made bed time something he would dread and try to avoid. The nightmares were the result of a traumatic experience and despite the age, they were real memories. After several unsuccessful attempts at trying to overcome these night terrors I came up with making the 'safe place'. This place, or bed, would help Mic overcome the bad dreams and give him some comfy good dreams....I had Mic help me set up the bed along side my older son's bed and placed all the things Mic loved, like toys, books and blankets. I also gave Mic one of my treasured dream catchers to help catch the bad dreams.   Sleeping along side my older son offered Mic some comfort as did having all his favourite things next to him. The dream catcher was the biggest success as he already had a little understanding of what they were for. That night Mic was eager to go to his bed. He was excited for the first time in ages. Mic slept through the night and without one nightmare. The next morning we was all excited about sleeping through the night and couldn't wait to sleep in his 'safe place' again.   After a few successful nights I realised that I would need to get him back into a conventional bed, other wise he would be too dependent on this new one. I made a big deal of moving the boys room around and included Mic in all the decisions about where to move his bed and what to put next to it. Mic still had an occasional nightmare, however, but nothing like he did have.   The important thing was to get Mic to realise that he was in a safe place and to make sure he didn't go to bed thinking about his nightmares. I didn't want his last thought before sleep being, I'm going to have a bad dream. It took me about two weeks for this process to work but considering how long he had been going through this, it was relatively quick.   Mic is 12 now and still remembers having the nightmares but most of all he remembers the 'safe place'. It is something he has mentioned a few times while growing up and it's a memory that he remembers fondly and one I always receive a hug for. Acknowledging a child's bad dream is important but it is something parents should not discuss as they go to bed. Reading books and making bed time fun will help that last memory for the night being a good one. Teaching your child strategies to overcome obstacles is important and I believe it should be something taught as early as possible.