Thread: Start 'em Young.

I was wondering how many of you with children have thought about teaching - or do teach - your kids about dream control and lucid dreaming. I have no children but when I do I certainly intend to teach them the ways of the dreamer.

It seems that cultures who place an sense of importance and relevance on dreams have the benefit of their children becoming particularly well-adjusted to their respective societies. In the Western world, dreams have become regarded as simply random noise and non-sense that has no importance. As result, people don't even remember most of their dreams, none the less care about them.

indeed that seems like the next step in the lucid community, while of course honing our own skills and learning as much as we can. teaching lucid dreaming is almsot as important as participating in it, maybe even more so. i would teach my kid, but im onl 16, and thus have no children lol...

Originally Posted by Alucinor

indeed that seems like the next step in the lucid community, while of course honing our own skills and learning as much as we can. teaching lucid dreaming is almsot as important as participating in it, maybe even more so. i would teach my kid, but im onl 16, and thus have no children lol...
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im only 16 too but im still gonna teach my kids to learn lucid dreaming

I definitely will be teaching my kids when they're old enough to understand. (My oldest just turned 2 and my other is only 4 months old.)

My dad started teaching me about dream *control* at around 4 years old when I was having nightmares. He just told me that when something bad was in a dream that I could call him and he would *always* come and protect me NO MATTER WHAT. Because I believed it so vehemently, it worked for me. I plan to teach my kids the same thing.

It was not long after that I began having some semblance of LD's and other types of dream control.

So, the short answer to your question is, I will.

Originally Posted by ivey

]My dad started teaching me about dream *control* at around 4 years old when I was having nightmares. He just told me that when something bad was in a dream that I could call him and he would *always* come and protect me NO MATTER WHAT. [/b]

So that's your secret! That's really cool.

If I had kids I would teach them about lucid dreaming. They should teach it in school. I wish I would have found out about it a long time ago.

If and when I have kids, I'm totally going to teach them about LDing. I feel that if I had learned about LDing when I was younger, I would be at least a slightly more confident and less anxious person. When I first became curious about lucid dreams and meditation, my family thought I was ripe for demonic possession. Cheers, family.

I want to raise my children to believe that their brains are something to use, explore, and play with, not rigidly control and fear.

On another note, I wonder if children would be able to learn to LD faster than adults? Many people report that they could LD when they were younger, but gradually lost the ability. It would certainly be an interesting thing to look into.

Originally Posted by Spritely

I want to raise my children to believe that their brains are something to use, explore, and play with, not rigidly control and fear.[/b]

I love when people say things like that. Fear of failure is such a daunting little gremlin. It can literally make you less successful in life. I owe so much in my life to having the courage to try. It's a shame that so much of the world fails to explore their own minds and hidden talents. Not just in the realm of LD but, in their entire waking life.

Even if you were to fail to LD, always have the courage to use your mind. You'll be surprised at what you can do when you try. Like you said, even the skill of dreaming with intent can greatly improve your confidence and make you a more complete person. That's something that everyone around you will benefit from as well.

I've tried to get my wife and both of my kids interested in lucid dreaming. My 19 year old daughter couldn't care less, however, my 15 year old son is a little more open to things like that and has WILDed once before. I'll keep working on them, but it's really a little late for them to get started 'early'

I don't have bebes yet I think it would be good to help your children to become profficient lucid dreamers, (very good for defeating nightmares), plus it can be alot of fun. (just tell them not to use it as an escape, or explain to them some of the issues involved)

I would say its a good idea

I was thinking about this the other night
As soon as my chldren are able to read and write, I will teach them to keep a dream Journal
and then when I sense thyre old enought o larn induction techniques I'll start teching them

I want my children to meditate and have some sense of the imprtance of esoteric-ness
I do bleieve if id known aobut lucid dreaming from a younger age it would have helped a lot

Imran

It would be pretty interesting to see a version of EWOLD written for kids. Normally I dislike dumbing stuff down, but I don't know how accessible most LD guides would be to, say, ten-year-olds. Do any books about LDing, written for children, exist? I wonder.

I think that this would be a GREAT piece of family tradition. Start when they are very small, and I'm sure you might have some success.

Think along the lines of the Senoi dream control system, for starters. Their first rule is "Always confront your fears in a dream." That simple rule alone alleviates most nightmares. That's especially useful to children and it carries over to real-life situations. Another of their rules, "Always seek a positive outcome in your dreams" as well as "Look to receive a "gift" in your dreams" are extremely positive motivators and confidence builders. Their "gift" is usually something of a creative nature that can be used in waking life.

So even non-lucid dream control can be very beneficial to children. It's essential to Senoi and other cultures yet so completely disregarded in most of today's cultures.

Starting children young in Lucid Dreaming will probably allow them to be much better lucid dreamers when they grow older.
I hope when one day I have children, I'll teach them to be able to have dream control and lucidity (if I ever become any good at it).

A lucid dream book for children (or even 'tweens/teenagers) would sell!

Definately. I wish I'd been taught about LDing from early on... would have saved a lot of effort later on

I would teach my kids in the future. It's an enjoyable skill and would help them to learn and be more creative.

I wouldn't teach my kids when they're young, because they probably wouldn't understand when they're little.
I'd wait until they're adolescents, or teenagers, so that way they understand it more. Because, for example, you tell little kids to not touch things, because they're gonna' break, and the next thing they do is break them. So, no, I wouldn't start them young.

Originally Posted by Method

I wouldn't teach my kids when they're young, because they probably wouldn't understand when they're little.
I'd wait until they're adolescents, or teenagers, so that way they understand it more. Because, for example, you tell little kids to not touch things, because they're gonna' break, and the next thing they do is break them. So, no, I wouldn't start them young.
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Well, you don't necessarily just start trying to teach them to try lucid dreaming right off the bat. Like Marvo said:

Originally posted by Marvo
I'll wait untill they come to me, and tell me they had a nightmare. Then I'll explain them the idea of dream-control. Then I'll just expand later with lucid-dreaming and such.

Though, Marvo, I must say that - to me, at least - lucid dreaming isn't only about the "coolness factor". Yes, that is a wonderful aspect of it but there are also practical applications of LDing that we can all benefit from. Dream control - whether lucid or not - is a very beneficial skill to acquire.

Go for it, they will then have the skill since its early on you can learn such things, Then they can use it to their advantage, once they have the skill you can give em' ideas of what to do and even things to accomplish.

I guess I would, but I wouldn't just walk up to them and say "LUCID DREAM!".

I'll wait untill they come to me, and tell me they had a nightmare. Then I'll explain them the idea of dream-control. Then I'll just expand later with lucid-dreaming and such.

There is one problem though. The reason we find lucid-dreaming so cool, is because it's so cool, since we can only do it every now and then. If we teach them about it, when they're young, they'll most likely lucid-dream all the time, which will decrease the "This is cool" factor. I guess.
But I'll teach them

Originally Posted by Alucinor

indeed that seems like the next step in the lucid community, while of course honing our own skills and learning as much as we can. teaching lucid dreaming is almsot as important as participating in it, maybe even more so. i would teach my kid, but im onl 16, and thus have no children lol...
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Hey, I'm 16 too!

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I would want to teach my kids early enough to where sex wasn't the only thing on their mind and they can appreciate it more. If they didn't understand well enough, I'd wait a couple more years and try again. I wouldn't want to push it too hard on them though.

LDing can increase happiness so I see no downside to starting young.

loool
check this out:
reading (again) this topic's title, i've just recalled a dream i had last night. it was about me, doing something in a house where a mother was puting Lucid Dreaming induction audio tracks to her small kids !! I have to mention that i've read this topic many times before, but never checked it out; i am pretty sure the dream was induced by this title.
Secondly, i guess it's pretty frustrating..a dream about lucid dreams..

Oh, well. funny, anyway
~Vox.

Teaching your kid's about LD's is a great idea but it's kinda difficult if their too young. I've been trying to teach my son about it since he was 6 and it's been a little difficult up to now but he does have them on occasion. The main problem is getting him to do RC's, he's so active during the day he doesn't remember to do them that often. Personally I don't think it's best not to force any it on him, however I do mention things to him when I think about it and if he's interested at that moment we'll talk about it

One of the things I found that helps is to have him imagine something he was very interested in at the time, which in his case was poke'mon (I'd like to shoot who ever came up that crap), but any way it was very useful to use that as an aid.

i'd get my kids to keep a dream journal. if i ever have any

Originally Posted by dablitzballer

i'd get my kids to keep a dream journal. if i ever have any
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Perhaps equally as effective (as demonstrated by the Senoi tribe) is if you simply talk to your kids about dreams. Have them tell you about their dreams in the morning. Make it a breakfast ritual and it'll not only improve their dream recall but increase their value of dreams by encouraging them to regard dreams as important.

As you hear of your child's dreams you can give them guidance as to how to face fears in nightmares, make dream friends, have wild adventures, etc... by saying things like"Why did you run from the monster? Remember, monsters in dreams aren't real and they can only hurt you if you are afraid of them. Next time you see that monster, look it in the eye and make him your friend and he can help you and save you from other dangers or even give you gifts!"

Things like that help children develop a talent for dream control and helps them in waking life as well. Keep in mind that that is not the same as LD but as they grow and become more mature and experienced with dreaming, you can then ease them into the wonderful world of LD.