Killing in night mare

Last night I had a nightmare in which my 2 young children were involved everything seemed normal at first until my dad pulled my youngest behind him and a man I don't know had my son by the throat and I was standing in front of him screaming to let him go and he laughs in my face and tells me it's going to be fun killing my boy and seeing me watch and doing nothing to stop him, I am then at this mans throat with a kitchen knife but when I tried to cut him nothing happens so I stab him and rip the knife through and he laughs and disappears only to reappear again and is still after my son what does this all mean

I don't know much about what the meaning of this particular situation is, but perhaps you are bottling up some fear concerning your son or the safety of your family. Has anything happen recently to make you fear a stranger coming after your son? Has something happened to your son/family recently to make you question your ability to protect them? If this happens again, try not to give into that primal fear and instead focus on your will to make him stop hurting your son. To me, it sounds like your mind was whirling with the thought of losing your son that you couldn't focus on actually killing the attacker. Have no doubt in yourself or your ability to protect your family. Hope that helps!