The Nightmare Nibbler

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Today I am delighted to introduce you to Susan Smith inventor of The Nightmare Nibbler

Susan is the creator of the Kidlutions Preferred Product Award winning plush toy, the Nightmare Nibbler. As the Mum of a young son, Sam, she was very familiar with the “middle of the night” cries for help and protection from nightmares.

Sam’s struggle with nightmares had prompted her to try and find something… anything, that would help him have a restful sleep through the night. She’ll be the first to admit,  that she wanted a solution as much for his sake as hers—her  husband Jamie and Susan  had their sleep disturbed as much as poor Sam did!

With that in mind and in an attempt to come up with a way to help Sam, Susan created a loveable monster whose sole purpose was to protect him through the night by devouring any and all bad dreams that would come its way… this was how the Nightmare Nibbler character came to be.

Susan practiced the same nightly bedtime ritual as many families which always included a story, a cuddle and then lights out. she created the whimsical Nightmare Nibbler poem so that parents could recite it along with their child before tucking them in at night— allowing for it to become a comforting and bonding part of their bedtime routine.

I work with many parents trapped in the nightmare of lack of sleep and for my simple ideas around sleep and my suggestions here is my The Sleep Fairy blog.

Here is Susan’s blog post that I hope will also help.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh, Mama….Mama!” This heart-stopping cry for help in the middle of the night is something that I was all too familiar with. Around the time that my son, Sam was 4 years old, his cries during the night prompted my husband and I to spring out of bed – typically stubbing toes and crying out ourselves in the process in order to race to his bedside offering him comfort.

Sam’s ongoing fear of ‘things that went bump in the night’ and subsequent battle with nightmares prompted me to try and find something… anything, that would help him have a restful sleep through the night. I’ll be the first to admit, I wanted a solution as much for his sake as ours—my husband and I had our sleep disturbed as much as poor Sam did!

With that in mind and in an attempt to come up with a way to help Sam, I created a whimsical rhyming poem which described a loveable monster whose prime purpose was to protect him through the night by devouring any and all bad dreams that would come its way… the Nightmare Nibbler character was born!

Interest in this character, from others who found themselves in this exact same situation with their own children, prompted me to take the next step and make the leap into the very imposing world of entrepreneurship…or ‘MoMpreneurship’ in my case. ?

NORBERT is the first member of the Nightmare Nibbler Nation to arrive on Earth and as the rhyming poem on his hangtag describes, he remains awake and on duty through the night, protecting kids from scary things that might give them a fright! Since his arrival a little over one year ago, he’s been thrilled with the smorgasbord of scary and frightening things that he’s had to feast on! He is also super excited to be featured in the new children’s picture book called Norbert the Nightmare Nibbler which makes a wonderful complement to the plush.

The Nightmare Nibbler has enjoyed favourable feedback thus far as a playmate by day and protector by night, proving to be a unique and effective nightmare management tool. That said it is important to point out that it is not designed to assist with night terrors. Oftentimes, nightmares and night terrors are used interchangeably, when in fact there is a marked difference between the two.

Nightmares are unpleasant or scary dreams which usually occur during the later part of a night’s sleep during REM (dream time) sleep. Children wake up from a nightmare feeling scared or distressed and respond to comfort from a parent. They may be reluctant to go back to sleep and need you to help them feel safe. They can usually remember part of a nightmare afterwards.

Night Terrors are not dreams, but a partial awakening from sleep with unusual behaviours such as screaming, mumbling or kicking. Night terrors tend to happen in the first 2 or 3 hours of sleep. Kids don’t respond to efforts to comfort or reassure them and won’t typically remember having had one.

We welcome new visitors to learn more about the award winning Nightmare Nibbler by visiting the Nightmare Nibbler Nation at www.nightmarenibbler.com

Pleasant Dreams!

 

Susan Smith

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