Some suggest babies may dream quite early, even in the womb. They base this on the presence of REM (rapid eye movement) sleep in babies as young as 23 weeks in the womb.
Newborns spend a much higher percentage of their sleep in REM compared to adults (50% vs. 20%). This could indicate more dreaming.
Others say true dreaming with complex scenarios and memories doesn't occur until closer to toddlerhood, around 2 years old.
This aligns with significant brain development at that age, especially in areas related to memory and imagination.
Studies on children's dream recall show minimal reports before age 5, and they become more frequent and detailed only around age 7-8.
Babies can't tell us directly what they experience in their sleep. We rely on indirect methods like brain activity monitoring and later dream recall for our understanding.
Even if babies experience REM sleep and brain activity patterns similar to adults, it's unclear if their mental state during those periods is truly "dreaming" as we know it.
We don't know for sure when babies start dreaming in the same way adults do. Evidence suggests it could happen early on, but also might not fully develop until toddlerhood.
Enjoy your baby's sleep patterns and their fascinating world, even if you can't access their dreams directly.