ABSTRACT
This chapter presents activity to help a child deal with recurring nightmares of monsters or other evil villains. Many parents awakened by children suffering from nightmares feel ill equipped to handle the depth of the fear that can accompany a child's nightmare. One way parents can accomplish targeting a specific villain is through metaphor. Young children love superheroes. One superhero who usually comes through well is Superman. Children may see lapses in power in many superheroes, but with the exception of kryptonite, Superman is invincible. Wonder-Woman might run steel bands around the monster. Developmentally, it is normal for young children to encounter a nasty monster or evil villain. The parent and child can befriend the monster, inviting the unruly character to tea or over for pizza to conquer it with kindness and void the need for the monster to be unkind.
