My son came into my bedroom saying that he had a bad dream and wanted to sleep with me. He cuddled up to my arm in the bed. After about 20 mins of the stuffy nose, I asked him if he was feeling ok and why his nose was stuffed up. "I don't know"' he said. Five more minutes passed and he was still pretty stuffed up so I asked what his bad dream was about. At first, he didn't want to tell me. Then, he let it spill out with tears flowing.
He said, "I was dreaming we were at the beach and I found a toy Gatlin gun and there was a strange person there. This person told me that there was a house for rent that was close to his friends for only $200 a month. So we packed up our stuff and left the house we are in but when we got to the new one it was $2 Million instead. So we were homeless and it was all my fault."
I have the sweetest little boy in the world. I comforted him and told him that neither I or his father would ever let us be in that situation. I also told him that by no means are any of the bills or tough times his fault. Apparently, I should not discuss the budget out loud around him anymore because he worries about it more than he should and more than I realized.
After letting it all out, reassurances that we would not be homeless and that it was only a bad dream, and cuddling with me for a while, he fell asleep.
No, things are not that bad financially but kids pick up on things and what we look on as a minor hardship, they can see as catastrophic. When mom and/or dad get upset, even at each other, in front of the children, the child may perceive it to be their fault. Of course, it isn't their fault, but parents, I include myself in this, should never forget to explain that it is by no means the fault of the children when things get tight or don't go as we planned.
Lesson learned!