Hey mamas! I need some suggestions. I have a 2 year old who has always been a wonderful nap taker and wonderful sleeper. We have always been about "routine" from about the time she was 6 months old. I have NEVER had a problem with her crying before bed or waking up or anything. She ahs always gone willingly-sleeps heavily and all night long. She still takes about a 3 hour nap for me too during the day. So here is my question- for a bout the past two weeks- my daughter has been waking up 2-3 times a night crying out for me. I thought maybe it was due to her 2 year molars still coming in (i can see them under her gum) but about 4 or 5 days ago i told my husband that i think she is acting scared when i go in there at night. She still doesn't fight us to go to bed- we tell her its time for bed- she finds her bear and blanket-gives everyone good night kisses- and walks with us to her bedroom. But last night when i was about to put her in her crib-she literally started acting "panicked" and breathing really fast saying "No, mommy! It's not gonna get get you!" I have no idea where all this is coming from- she watches little to no tv at all and if she does- i turn it on the Noggin channel so its just cartoons. I have no idea what she would be scared of-and know that i am a mom did the ferber method with her- so i am no stranger to letting her cry it out- but i feel bad letting her do that when i think she is scared of something.
She usually goes to bed at 8 or so and last night she woke up crying 3 times before it was even 11:30-so at that point- i made her and i a little bed on her floor (i do not want her thinking she can come into our bed) and we slept on the floor and THEN she woke up even earlier than normal so i am sure she is exhausted. She also has a night light in her room and i have even tried plugging in this fake aquarium thing to give her a little more light but it doesn't seem to help at all.
Has anyone ever dealt with this- i have had a perfect sleeper for almost 2 years so i do not get this at all. I am started to get so tired from going into her room several times a night- not to mention i also have a 5 month old that i just got sleeping thru the night a little over a month ago! So if anyone has any recommendations i would love to hear!
Carrie said she used "spider spray"...with my daughter she was scared of "monsters" so we used magic chapstick every night to keep the monsters away. I had totally forgotten about that until reading Carrie's response. My son is 2 and 1/2 and he has started doing this too. It is definitely an age thing.
When I was 2 years old, I still slept in my crib, I remember the house we lived in, and I remember the monster under the bed. This is the deal, your daughter doesn't have to watch t.v. to have monsters under her bed.
We didn't have a t.v. when we lived out on the farm, and I still managed to make one up.
Don't try to tell her it isn't there, because she believes it is...that only makes her realise you can't see it and that will make her even more scared because you can't help her if you don't see it.
What worked for me, is my mother got an empty spray bottle and put "monsterspray" in it. She would go and spray the room, and under the bed, in the closet, and say, "There, they hate monsterspray! They can't come in here now."
It worked, and eventually the monsters went away.
If your child is bright and verbal, her imagination is alive and well, and working overtime at night.
Ps. I played under the crib, during the daytime and knew the monsters were only there at night. So if she's scared to be in the room during the day too, you might need to monsterspray during the day too.
I don't know if you read the Bible or go to church or are a Believer, but if you are, you could read your child a Bible story before bedtime about God's love and care and protection. That always helped our kids and we'd talk about it before bed and then if they woke I'd remind them who was watching over them and loved them and pray with them and they were so calm after that. I'd sometimes turn on the light so we could show them nothing is getting anyone and it's just that we can't see in the dark. They do understand much more than you think when you talk with them about it. As for the cartoons you may want to be sure you watch them with her as some of them have things that are scary to a child that you may not consider scary at all or maybe they see it as something you wouldn't think of, etc. She will outgrow it but I do think it's important to teach even this young how to handle fear when it comes even later in life. It will.
Be thankful you at least had the time of good sleep you've had! Our daughter has never been a good sleeper. She fights going to bed every night. But she is also two, so we, too, are entering the stage where she's afraid of things in the night. My husband and I actually had an argument about this last night. He thinks we need to just let her cry in the night, but if she's really scared, I think that's a terrible idea. If I was really scared, and I knew someone who supposedly loved me was nearby and they didn't come to keep me company, I would feel so alone and insecure. So for now, I go into her room and rub her back for a few minutes until she's almost asleep. She's not allowed out of her bed which she knows, so she doesn't come to our room (although she did for the first time last night). Hopefully this phase will pass soon, and we'll avoid creating any new bad habits. I know what you mean, though - we're expecting another girl in 3 weeks and it's killing me to not get good sleep at night now, much less when the baby gets here. Good luck!!
Hi L.!
You are not alone. I too have dealt with this with my own son. He just turned 2 in July and has always been a great sleeper. He started acting absolutely terrified when I'd lay him in his bed and try to leave him there. He would talk about monsters and was afraid there were monsters in his room. He also only watches cartoons on Noggin (Nick Jr I guess it is called now). I am not sure where he learned of monsters. He would also wake in the middle of the nights screaming for me. I did let him sleep in my bed only because I felt guilty leaving him in there when he was so terrified. He doesn't do this anymore. I don't know if he's grown out of it or if the things we've done have helped. We put a lava lamp in his room and turn it on before bed. We tell him to watch his "bubble lamp." We also play classical music or lullabies as he falls asleep. I turn everything off before I go to bed, but he does great falling asleep to all of that now. Good luck!
We too have been dealing with this issue with our 2 1/2 yr old son. He has always been a great sleeper!! He started haveing nite terrors a few months ago. He only watches 1 cartoon, which I thought was harmless (and actually educational).While it IS educational, he is learning things from it, like being scared of monsters, etc.
Anyway, we have put a gate up in his room (at the door) so monsters can't get in and he recently started sleeping on the floor, closer to the door. One thing we started that I can't say I'm proud of is letting him listen to his favorite children's music while he falls asleep. This has worked for us, but I know every child is different. I wish you the best!!
it's totally the age! my son just turned three and in the last year he learned what it was to be "scared" for the first time...everything from spiders to trains (which he has always loved) scares the bejeezus out of him now. it's kind of terrifying to not realize anything is wrong and look down at your little one and see them literally trembling head to toe. basically it is something that comes with age, she is starting to learn that some things can hurt her and that there are bad things in the world. totally normal but not very cool for parents. (my son LOVED fireworks the first couple years but this past summer he and his cousin the same age, both were terrified and kind of ruined the holiday for us...bummer!) we had the same kinds of issues come up with sleeping. my son was also a GREAT sleeper. SO what to do...we ended up using a "spider spray" (water bottle) to get rid of all the scary things in his room before bedtime, and we got him a nightlight. but there is a measure of common sense needed, too. i told my son i understood he was scared, and i would always be there for him, but i would NOT be running in several times a night. at some point they do have to learn to cope with these new fears. after a couple months i started putting my foot down and quit going in so often...i just had to wean him off of that just like anything else. part of "growing up" is learning to deal with these things. you can't cater to her all the time. just be firm but gentle and help her learn that she can still sleep on her own. my son is forever hiding under his blankets, it freaks me out a bit but we're adjusting! it's his coping method. good luck...be patient, it gets better!
When my two year old started to act scared at night, we came up with a solution that has worked REALLY well for us. We pretend that we are holding a spray bottle in our hands and both squirt "monster juice" all over her room and around her bed. "Monster juice" keeps away the monsters and anything scary. My daughter also doesn't watch much tv but does play with other kids who talk about monsters. She gets to help with the "spray" and then she is safe because NO monsters or scary things can get in. She loves it and reminds me every night to spray monster juice. She gets to help take control of her fear and it has worked wonders for us. We also bought a brighter nightlight and that helped too. Good luck!
Almost everyone with a 2 to 3 yr old has gone through this, it is night terrors and I don't know what causes them but all children experience this stage.
A night lite would help and maybe leaving the door open until she is asleep.
Good luck
A lot of other mamas have great ideas. I just want to encourage you to be patient with her and not make her cry it out this time. You don't want her to develop issues with sleep because of fear. Today my 2-year-old son saw a picture in a book of a boy crying, and he said, "Where's his Mommy?" I'm so glad he immediately thought that a crying boy should have a mommy there to comfort him. Toddlers need comfort in the middle of the night, too.
I'm going through the same thing with my 2 1/2 yr old!!!! Very annoying! She does it about 5-8 times a night now. It must be the age. I've heard they get night terrors...not sure what to do, or if there is anything that will help.
L., thanks for asking the question. My 2.5 yr old sees "the people" in her room. She wakes up about 3am terrified. I look forward to other mamas answers.
