This 7-Year-Old Invented The Most Brilliant Pillow To Banish Nightmares

As a former child with sleep problems and general fears surrounding bedtime, I love innovative solutions aimed at helping children fall asleep and enjoy the process of going to bed. 7-year-old Harper Miller, named the 2018 Young Inventor of the Year at the Toy and Game Innovation Awards and Moms Choice Awards, and winner of The National Parenting Center Seal, came up with the idea of a fluffy, plush pillow in which kids could tuck their written-down dreams and hopes right before going to sleep. Dreamimals Dream Pillows come in fluffy animal shapes and encourage kids to think of positive thoughts before they hit the sack.

The child inventor, Harper Miller, came up with the idea as her mother was comforting her younger brother before bedtime. "The first Dream Pillow came about when Harper overheard a conversation at bedtime where I was encouraging her brother to think of happy things before bed," Harper's mother, Jenna Sellers Miller, told Kidskintha. "That’s when she came up with the greatest idea! She loves to draw and create so she decided that they should write down or draw what they WANT to dream about before bed to create the stories themselves," Miller said.

The original DreamPillow™ is a fluffy white pillow with a pocket to tuck in little notes (notepad provided) detailing your hopes and dreams. The new Dreamimals™ pillows come in three animal shapes and are themed.

A smiling shark named Sharkie with a little fin and ferocious teeth (too cute to be scary) encourages kids to be brave, adventurous, positive, and confident. Sharkie looks like fun for a future marine biologist.

A sweet lamb with soft ears, named Lamby is themed around being cuddly, comforting, and calming fears. Lamby is designed to be for more anxious sleepers. The big ears look especially cuddly.

Pinky, the fuzzy-eared koala specializes in dreams that are silly, funny, and creative. Each comes with its own storybook and 60-page “Wish Note” cloud-shaped notepad, for kids to write down what they want to dream that evening as well as their hopes for the future.

These look adorable and would be a great way for children to think positively before going to sleep, as well as to conquer nighttime fears and to think about their goals and future plans. I can also imagine parents can have some fun with these pillows, secretly tucking in a special message from the Dreamimal for your child to read next bedtime. This is also potentially a way to help wind down and "meditate" before sleep. A study by Scullin et. al, published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology, found that writing a "to-do" list before going to bed can help you fall asleep faster. So it's likely that a kid's version of this, writing down their goals, hopes and dreams, could have a similar effect.

The Dream Pillow website also offers keychain versions of Sharkie, Lamby, and Pinkie, with tiny notebooks and pockets to tuck their messages in. They would work well as a comforting friend to bring to school or sleepovers. These retail for $10 a pop. Honestly the keychains are so cute, I kind of want one! Then I could stuff it full of my Wish Notes like “get through the day with caffeine,” and “have the Tire Fairy come and replace my car’s tires.” Who says the Dreamimals are just for kids? Although I’m starting to wonder if the Tire Fairy is real.