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This article is a reprint from my site - Just 4 Families
Have you ever found your child suddenly crying out in the night. Perhaps even screaming. You go to them and find that either they are crying in their sleep or they are sitting upright in bed
with their eyes wide open. It is obvious that nothing has disturbed them so you start to wonder if they have had a nightmare. Perhaps, often they haven't.
If your child is aged between two and five it is possible that they are experiencing a night terror. These are different to nightmares and when you approach them it is a good chance they are still asleep, even though their eyes are open. In fact, when having a night terror, the child is not fully awake and is not even aware that you are there. They may appear distressed and often it seems that no matter what you do, they are inconsolable.
Children generally grow out of night terrors by the age of six. If you feel you need to deal with them earlier, there are steps you can take which may stop them or at the very least, reduce their frequency. These steps generally revolve around simple changes to the child's routine.
Night Terrors - What Do I Do When They Occur?
Your first instinct is going to be to try and console the child, perhaps talk to them and reassure them. However, as the child is often still asleep they are not going to hear or understand you. You may even aggravate the situation as you also become part of that 'terror'.
As a parent, your role first is to ensure that everything is fine in their room. In other words, remove any other cause for the crying (it is not always the terrors). You must also ensure the child's safety. Are they at risk of falling out of bed - particularly if they sleep in a bunk bed?
If they child is sitting up, gently lay them down without any fuss. Place them on their tummy and tuck them in. Pat them gently on the back for a moment or two and then leave them.If they have been thrashing about, wait until it subsides a little. Don't force them to wake up.
Night Terrors - Can I Prevent Them?
Every child is different and there are generally no common causes - in fact cause is a matter of debate with no real answers. Without knowing causes it is difficult to make broad statements about prevention. Having said that, there are some steps you can take that do seem to decrease the frequency of night terror attacks.
- Ensure your child gets sufficient sleep. Being overtired can create problems and some experts believe that this is a primary cause of night terrors. Put them to bed a little earlier or let them sleep in a little later. You can also look at midday naps.
- The opposite of the previous point. Make sure the child is not getting too much sleep during the day. If the child is getting too much sleep they may have difficulty staying asleep during the evening.
- Change your child's bedtime routine. Change the order of things. Give them some quiet time in bed, perhaps reading a book or playing with some of their soft toys.
- Interupt your child's sleep. If the problem is nightly and seems to occur at regular times, interupt your child's sleep. You do not need to wake them fully, just disturb so that they role over or change position. Is can prove to be very effective.
- Reduce the stimulation for that last hour before bed. Remove the televison at least an hour before bed. Also reduce any rough stimulating play.
- Spend more quiet time with your child. Let them sit on your lap while you read to them or play a quiet game or simply listen to music. A good 20 to 30 minutes of quiet time together can work wonders.
Night Terrors - In Conclusion
Night terrors are more of a problem for the parents and the rest of the house than it is for the child. The child is normally not even aware of what is happening and in the morning has no memory of the midnight event.
If the problem gets out of hand, or you are really concerned, get help from a medical practitioner. If the problem really is out of hand, they may prescribe medications to help. This is really a rare occurance.
Under no circumstances should you self medicate the child. While it may seem harmless, self medicating may have many undesirable long term results.
If the problem is not to serious, offer a little comfort and then let them grow out of it. Don't make an issue of the problem and certainly don't punish them - the child is not aware of what is going on - they certainly have not control over it.
(April 2008) (
