Though usually innocent, kids’ scary dreams can be linked to mental health or medical concerns, reports US News & World Report.

For children troubled by nightmares, comfort from parents is usually all that’s needed to soothe them. “Talk to them, hug them, kiss them – give them a lot of reassurance,” suggests Dr. Marc Weissbluth, a clinical professor emeritus of pediatrics at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University in Chicago who has studied sleep issues in children.