Wed, Dec 19, 2007 page15

• “Mommy, there’s a monster!” — Nightmares common with kids 「媽咪，有怪獸！」─ 兒童常做惡夢

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  A monster is following him. The boy runs and runs, but the monster closes in. The youngster can feel its breath. Panic overcomes him. He screams, opens his eyes and sees the walls of his bedroom.

  It was a nightmare, which experts say is normal for children to experience. But when they occur often or when they cause children to fear going to sleep, parents should seek help.

  “Children have more nightmares than adults,” said Dieter Kunz, who works at Charite Hospital in Berlin. One reason children experience more bad dreams is because their brains are still maturing . Genetic factors also play a role, according to the German Sleep Society.

  

  A girl in bed, Washington DC, US, 2003. 二ＯＯ三年在美國華盛頓特區，一個女孩躺臥床上。 照片：法新社

  PHOTO: AFP

  Four percent of nine-year-olds who participated in a survey at the children’s hospital in Cologne-Porz said they have frequent nightmares while 40 percent said they have them occasionally.

  The dreams were influenced by whatever the children experienced or thought about during the day.

  “But it is badly jumbled ,” said Kunz.

  If children appear in their parents’ bedrooms after having nightmares, usually words of comfort are enough to help the children get over their fears.

  Talking about the dreams can wait until the next day because “if the child is afraid, he can’t get back to sleep,” said Michael Schredl, who works for a mental health institute in Mannheim.

  As a rule children can remember their nightmares and parents should let them explain the dreams, though parents often do not understand them. Parents should seek help if the nightmares continue over a long period of time.

  “If a child has a nightmare three times a week for three weeks, you must further question it,” said Alfred Wiater, head doctor at the children’s hospital in Cologne-Porz. (DPA)

  一個怪獸跟著他，男孩不停地跑著，但怪獸卻愈來愈近，這孩子可以感覺到牠的氣息，他驚慌失措，他大叫，張開眼後，看到的是房裡的牆壁。

  那是一場惡夢。專家說一般兒童都會做惡夢，但若惡夢的次數太頻繁或導致兒童不敢上床睡覺，父母就應該尋求協助了。

  「兒童比大人容易做惡夢，」任職柏林查利特醫院的迪耶特．昆茲說。德國睡眠協會指出，腦部仍在發育是孩子較常做惡夢的原因之一，而基因也扮演了重要的角色。

  參與德國科隆一所兒童醫院研究的九歲孩童中，有百分之四說他們常常做惡夢，有四成則說他們偶爾會做惡夢。

  孩子在日間經歷或思考的事情都會影響他們的夢。

  「但是夢境相當雜亂，」昆茲解釋。

  如果孩子因為做惡夢出現在父母的房裡，通常只要一些安慰的話語，就能讓他們克服恐懼。

  在德國曼漢姆心理健康機構任職的麥克．史奎多說，至於夢境的討論可以等到隔天，因為「如果孩子害怕，就無法再入睡」。

  通常兒童會記得他們的惡夢，儘管父母不懂，仍應該讓他們把夢境說出來。若長期做惡夢，父母應尋求協助。

  「若你的孩子每週做三次惡夢，情況維持三週，你就必須進一步了解狀況，」科隆兒童醫院精神科醫師阿費德．懷特表示。（德通社�翻譯：袁星塵）

  For your information

  TODAY’S WORDS 今日單字

  1. panic n. 驚慌 (jing1 huang1) 例: Panic ensued after the earthquake. (地震引發了一陣恐慌。) 2. mature v.t./v.i. 使成熟 (shi3 cheng2 shou2) 例: "He has matured very slowly," the teacher said. (「他很晚熟，」老師說。) 3. participate v.t./v.i. 參與 (can1 yu4) 例: Leroy wants to participate in the quiz bowl. (萊羅伊想參加益智問答大賽。) 4. jumble v.t./v.i. 使混亂 (shi3 hun4 luan4) 例: All the answers are jumbled together. (所有的答案都亂七八糟。)

  For your information

  SAY WHAT? 說說看

  as a rule 一般而言 As a rule is a phrase that’s used to describe something that almost always happens in a certain way. For example, “As a rule Rojen is usually late,” or “As a rule George dresses up nicely for important occasions.” Another phrase that could be used is rule of thumb. For example, “As a rule of thumb, Vince always picks the expensive wine,” or “A rule of thumb in poker is you should go all in if you have four of a kind.” 「as a rule」是一個片語，用以形容某事幾乎總是以特定的方式發生，例如：「一般而言，羅真總是遲到」，或「喬治通常會為了重要場合盛裝」。 另一個類似的片語是「rule of thumb」，例如：「一般而言，文斯都挑高檔的葡萄酒」，或「就撲克牌的經驗法則而論，若拿到四條，就應該要押下手中所有的籌碼」。

  For your information

  OUT LOUD 對話練習

  Lief: Why are you awake so late? Red: I had a nightmare and want to get a glass of water. Lief: Do you often have nightmares? Red: No, it came out of the blue. One moment I was on an airplane, the next moment I was heading straight for the ground. I woke up just before impact. Lief: That’ll wake you up! 李弗：你怎麼這麼晚了還起床？ 雷德：我做了個惡夢，想起來喝杯水。 李弗：你常做惡夢嗎？ 雷德：沒有耶，就是突然做了惡夢，前一刻我還在飛機上，接著我就墜向地面，我在幾乎撞上地面前醒來。 李弗：難怪你會嚇醒！ out of the blue　意外地、突然地 Something that happens out of the blue is sudden and unexpected. For example, “Grandpa’s heart attack came out of the blue. Luckily it was mild.” 形容某事的發生「out of the blue」指的是很突然和未在意料之中，例如：「爺爺的心臟病突發，出乎我們的意料，所幸結果並不嚴重」。
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