Dreams

The average person will spend about two hours dreaming each night. It is not uncommon to forget most of the dreams that you have each night (source: https.//www.forbes.com/health/mind/five-common-dream-meanings/). Research has also been conducted on gender differences in the dream content of children and adolescents (The American Journal of Psychology – Vol 132, No 3 Fall 2019, pp. 315-329). Male children, will typically dream of physical strength, and female children mostly dream of supernatural beings such as fairies and angels.

For my grandkids, I created these 2 paintings. My grandson, whose name is Shiv, typically prays to a powerful monkey God in Hinduism that represents physical strength. Hence, his painting shows how a little boy can tie the moon into a thin thread and fly it like a kite! My granddaughter, dreamy-eyed Siya, loves angels and fairies so her painting shows a fairy using her “magic wand” to create a sky full of glittery stars. She loves glitter, so it was only befitting to use it to enhance the starry night sky in the painting.

Studies indicate that dream content analysis may prove as a valuable tool for studying the inner world of children and adolescents, as dreams reflect their waking life experiences, thoughts, and concerns. (Source: Gender Differences in the Dream Content of Children and Adolescents: The UK Library Study on JSTOR).