Hi Ladies,
The last week my 2 1/2 year old has been waking in the middle of the night screaming for her father. We have never had this issue before. I cannot figure out what is causing them as she is terrified but as soon as she is comforted she goes right back to sleep (not sure if she is actually awake when we get to her). One night she came running down the hall screaming for her father. I limit her television; she watches Curious George, Cat in the Hat, and Sesame Street, that is it. She is not exposed to scary images in books or movies. There have been no disruptions in her schedule, habits, people coming or going. I just cannot figure out what is causing these. I have tried to talk to her during these little episodes to figure out what scares her but she does not really talk and when I approach it in the morning she of course does not remember. Have any of you other moms been through this? Is this a normal thing? I know their imagination kicks into high gear during this age but like I said she is not exposed to anything to create these fears. Any knowledge would be appreciated.
Sounds like night terrors. My 7 year old use to have them. There was nothing really I could do as with night terrors they are not really awake and can't be comforted. I use to just sit on her bed and rub her back untill the episode was over. She would not remember in the morning. She has not had one in years though. I think they stopped around her 5th birthday. My mom said I use to get them also but I of corse don't remember.
search on here for Night Terrors, lots of discussions about how to handle them.
Totally normal developmentally, and may ease and diminish with time.
Our daughter has had a few nightmares, too. She'll be three in April. Bees always seem to be the culprit when we ask her about it later. Your daughter and ours seem to watch the same channel, lol, so I know it's not from that. I think it's just a combination of imagination and dawning understanding of the world as opposed to just being aware of themselves.
Totally normal. I believe they call them night terrors. Some can be really awful. My son did the same thing between the ages of 2-3 years old. They get over them for the most part, but it does really freak you out as a parent. They're usually not awake, even though they seem like they are. I don't know why it's scary for them cause my little guy didn't watch scary things. She will get over it, but it takes a while.
Night terrors are normal. I remember both of my children having them and outgrowing them in about 6 months. You might want to talk to your pediatrician about what you can do, it's been a long while since my kids had them. When experiencing a night terror she's not really awake, and don't try to wake her. It's like waking a sleepwalker.
When kids go through a big developmental jump, it messes with their sleep. She is probably on the verge of making a new discovery, whether cognitive or physical or emotional and her little brain is working hard to figure it all out. Ride it out, she is probably fine.
According to developmental books, it is normal at this age to start having nightmares.Yes, night terrors can happen too but I'm talking about regular nightmares. My kids, especially my son had a few at 2 1/2. My daughter had fewer but she still had some. They've had little exposure to anything that would cause them to have nightmares. But that's in my view. In a child's view, there are probably lots of potentially scary things/ideas, e.g. barking dogs, falling off play equipment, mommy lost, kid lost, big loud noises. We can't really see the world the way they do.
Night Terrors and Night Mares....are a developmental occurrence.
Look it up online.
It is involuntary and also if a child is over-tired, too.
From a certain age, a child will have... Night Terrors or Night Mares. These are 2 different things.
I also taught my kids, that night mares are dreams... and they will tell me about it when they wake or if they remember. I never make it a 'scary' thing for them.
It is developmental based.
It is their developing Imaginations as well... you cannot turn that off.
It is development and involuntary.
AND just keep in mind, that "fears" from this age on up... DO occur. It is tangible to them, though not necessarily logical or tangible to us.
It is normal development.
I agree with all the other posters, it sounds like night terrors. My daughter had them at 2 1/2 to 3 years old. They got very bad and even started occuring at nap time at preschool. We ended up seeing a psychologist to get some tips on how to help our daughter overcome them. They main take away for us was that it was thought to be my daughter's reaction to stress. Come to find out my daughter's preschool teacher at the time had some personal issues going on which caused a stressfull environment in the class room. Funny thing, once the teacher was replaced, the night terrors stopped!
my daughter whose also 2 1/2 at one stage also used wake up screaming at night... but the minute i comforted her she was fine. i also limit my daughters tv programmes, stories... its just a stage, for the last 2 months (touch wood) there hasnt been any
Don't ya just love Mamapedia? Looks like you've got your answer. Yes, we've been there with our 3 year old about a year ago and was not aware of this developmental stage until we experienced it and talked w/other parents (didn't have Mamapedia at the time). Thanks ladies for continuing to share experiences!
