Bad dreams in preschoolers are less prevalent than thought, but nightmares in children are associated with higher anxiety levels, a Canadian study found.

Valerie Simard, under the direction of Tore Nielsen of the University of Montreal, studied 987 children in Quebec who were assessed by their parents at 29 months, 41 months, 50 months, and ages 5 and 6. Parents completed a questionnaire on their child's bad dreams.
The proportions of participants in each bad-dreams frequency category were quite stable over time, Simard said.
However, children with consistent bad dreams were rated by their mothers as having more difficult temperaments at five months and 17 months, as being more emotionally disturbed at 17 months and as being more anxious at 17 months than were children with no bad dreams.
The study, reported in the journal Sleep, also said the children who consistently experienced bad dreams were: more frequently restless at five months, more difficult to calm at 17 months and more frequently restless during the day at 17 months.
(Source: upi.com)