Bedtime fears and nightmares in kids: How the Toniebox can help

Bedtime fears and nightmares can make this a rather tricky time of day for our little snoozers and while nightmares themselves aren’t completely preventable, we can set the stage for a happy and restful night’s sleep.That way, when those bedtime fears or nightmares do creep in, a little comfort can go a long way, easing their minds and helping them get back to sleep. 

So, how can we encourage sweet dreams?

• Have a regular bedtime and wake-up time

• Have a bedtime routine that helps them relax and feel secure as they drift off to sleep. This might include a bath, a snuggle or reading then popping their favourite Tonie on the Toniebox 

• Have a bed that’s a cosy and peaceful place to settle 

• Having the Toniebox and their favourite Tonies close by may help your child feel less alone 

• A nightlight can help them make out their surroundings and stop the room from feeling so dark

• Where possible, avoid screens before bedtime, as they stop the release of the sleepy hormone, melatonin 

• Avoid any caffeine which can be found in chocolate or fizz – you’d be surprised how many of their favourite snacks can hype them up 

• Reassure and comfort them that nightmares and bedtime fears aren’t real. Show them that you understand why they might feel afraid and remind them that everyone dreams and sometimes they can feel very real, so it’s natural to feel scared by them. Offering something comforting like a favourite teddy or blanket might help them get back to sleep. We love giving our little ones a kiss to hold in the palm of their hand as we tip-toe out of their room.

So, how can the Toniebox help?

Let’s see how Alice used the Toniebox to help with son’s bedtime fears… 

“There were a few reasons why we wanted to introduce a Toniebox to our son but one of the main ones was to make bedtime easier and create less fear around nighttime and monsters. It's only in recent months that he has had the odd bad dream and spoken of monsters and this felt like a great option to try and eliminate that fear. 

We discovered that tonies® had some free audio content on their mytonies app called 'Only Monsters Can Hear This'. This special downloadable audio that ‘shoos away’ mischievous bedtime beasts can easily be assigned to their Creative-Tonie that comes with the Toniebox.

The 'Only Monsters Can Hear This' audio content was created to support parents of children who are scared at night and might be finding it difficult to drift off. It helps to show little ones that monsters are nothing to be afraid of and to help rebuild confidence at bedtime. The audio content consists of a soothing introduction to ease children into a sleepy state before playing a sound that ‘only monsters can hear’. 

We've found it really helpful in our bedtime routine, after about a week, our son was asking for it to be put on and touch wood, we've had no monster incidents since.”

Next, we have Emma who used the Toniebox to help with her son’s nightmares…

“When my little guy would wake in the night from nightmares, listening to safe and familiar stories and music on his Toniebox together, would help calm his little system and lull him back to sleep.”