6 of my memorable childhood dreams

While I was visiting my parents in Aberdeenshire, it gave me a good opportunity to hunt though the relics of my childhood room. I've already blogged about rediscovering my Amy Studt album, but another gem I found was my Dictionary of Dreams book. I can remember having some pretty out there dreams as a teenager and it began to fascinate my younger self.

However, I don't actually dream that much as I an adult, which makes looking back on some of these dreams peculiar. I'm unsure if kids and teenagers just have more active brains as they sleep? But one potential theory I have is that of food. I noted that I would dream more if I ate before bed (and, my dream obsessed teenage self would purposefully eat late so I would dream), but my diet was quite different back then. I went vegetarian when I was 20 and vegan at 23 and I'm not sure if maybe this could have had an effect on the activity of my sleeping brain.

I don't have a solid answer to that question - or what the meanings of my dreams were. But the recent #DreamsExplained campaign launched by Ajustamatic and dream expert Ian Wallace aims to answer some of those questions. In the new video Ian explains why it is kids dream and what they tend to dream about, depending on their age. The video is also embedded at the end of my post so you can have a nosey.

But first I thought I would share a selection of some my own childhood dreams that have stood out. 

As a child I had a recurring dream that a dinosaur came back to life. Just one. The news would follow the creature and warn certain parts of the country that it was coming near them so they had time to hide. I remember the map of the UK from one dream and it was identical to the TV weather map.

Potential Meaning: I was one of the kids who loved dinosaurs and wanted to be a paleontologist (Ross Geller, I hear ya). Which is probably the only reasonable explanation for this. 

Not long before my thirteenth birthday, my childhood dog was put to sleep. This was the first time I had to deal with the feelings that accompany death, and a recurring dream occurred for the next year. My beloved Maggie would stop by and pay us a visit. I was aware in the dream that it was nothing more than a visit and that she would be gone again soon. And even though it was just a dream it was nice to hold her again (or have her try and steal my food).

Potential Meaning: grief, especially because it was the first loss I ever went through. 

This was a one off dream and a bizarre one. When I was, say, 14 (?) I had a dream I was pregnant but had never had sex. Most of the dream was spent convincing people it was a legitimate virgin pregnancy.

Potential Meaning: I've always attributed this to teenage pressures to have sex

4. Teeth falling out (or returning to pre-braces smile)

I had braces for three years between the ages of 16 and 19. Ever since then I am still occasionally plagued by a dream where my now-straight teeth fall out or move back to where they were. To make something clear: my teeth were horrid. My baby teeth were relentlessly stubborn about falling out and it caused all sorts of problems (I even had two rows of incisors for a bit).

Potential Meaning: Teeth falling out is a common dream, but for me it was likely due to the insecurities my teeth caused during my teenage years. 

5. Hunger Games participant

I was late to the party with The Hunger Games but became hooked. So much that I dreamt I was a participant in the games. And won. Not because of my non-existent combat skills, but because I'm a strong swimmer (and also because I ran away to hide it out).

When I read the second book/watched the second film I realised I could survive that particular arena due to my strong swimming skills. Even if that was my only skill. In my dream there was plenty of water (and a boat?) which I was able to jump off from and run off into hiding. And wait it out.

Potential Meaning: watching the Hunger Games one too many times.

6. My stress dream

My final dream is however a recurring one that popped up in adulthood and says hello when I'm stressed - but in it I'm transported back to high school. I find myself back in my old high school, a couple of weeks into 5th or 6th year and I'm yet to make sense of my timetable. I've been unintentionally missing classes and haven't been doing my homework - not due to slacking, just because my brain hasn't settled into routine. My school shared senior classes with a nearby school, so I had to sometimes catch a shuttle bus between classes. And in the dream I just can't figure out what school I need to be in!

Potential Meaning: This dream only occurs when I'm stressed. But why I'm back to school I have no idea - I was good at keeping on top of my timetable (and knowing what school each class was in).

If you're still wondering what some of your own childhood dreams meant, Ian and Adjustamatic have created this video that discusses common childhood dreams. My dinosaur dream is half-explained by Ian sharing with us that 5-7 year-olds dreams about fantastical creatures.


What's your take on my dreams? Can you remember your childhood dreams?

About Adjustamatic
Adjustamtic specialise in adjustable beds. They have been making beds for over 50 years and are a British company who manufacture in the UK. There are nearly 30 papers written by doctors and medical professionals about the health benefits and are registered with the UK Government’s Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Authority.