2 Year Old Son Waking up Screaming

If it is at the same time everyday it might be a noise. Does a train go by or does someone start their car for work? It could be all the things everyone else said too. Ears, pain, bad dream. Night terrors were when my son was younger. Now that he is 2 1/2 he can tell me he was scared or what was happening in his dream. (he doesn't know it was just a dream, to him it was real. That's why he is so scared) sometimes he even remembers them the next day.
Did anything else change recently? Move to a different house? Meet new people? Rearranged his room? New family member? These things might contribute.
Hope he sleeps thru the night soon.
S.

tug gently on the lobe of each ear and see how he acts to see if it's an ear infection. Or just take him to the dr today, you don't wanna wait out a 3 day weekend.

Hmmm. I at first thought night terrors too. Is he really awake? Can you talk to him and get a response? My daughter has night terrors and you can tell because while she looks awake, she is not responsive to anything we do. My only other thought is a nightmare or just a new irrational fear that kids get. I'd just wait it out for another few days. Maybe try ignoring him. He might be trying to get your attention and by you responding to his screams, he is getting it. Good luck!

My daughter does this. We *thought* it was night terrors but it was actually severe acid reflux.
I would also look into an ear infection, like you had mentioned. Pain isn't always a clear cut indicator. My son had a horrible double ear infection and he said he felt fine. weird, huh?

It might be time for a later bedtime. What time does he go to bed. My son seemed to have an alarm clock, he was an early riser, changing his bed time didn't help much, I think he had an inner alarm clock, (so does his father). To put it nicely, two year olds are designed to be tricky, they are smart and will act and re-act on your behavior. Make sure the ear isn't the problem, and try a bit later bedtime.

I would have his ears looked at.

My 19 month old has been doing the same thing recently. She usually calms down quickly, but I feel so bad for her. I heard that around this time, kids start having bad dreams. My daughter isn't vocal enough yet to tell me if that's what it is for her, but at 2 1/2, maybe your son could tell you if he's having bad dreams, and then you could talk through his fears with him.

Hello there, my daughter will be 3 in June and she is waking up screaming at night as well. Not at 5 am but in the middle of the night and is unconsolable. We took her to the doctor who said everything looked good for her. I'm hoping it's just a phase and I think they are either having night terrors or some sort of nightmare. I just hold her and tell her it'll be okay and that mommy and daddy are here and it's alright. After about an hour she'll go back to sleep. This probably doesn't really help but it's nice to know that you're not alone in this sort of thing. Good luck and if you figure something out let me know :)

Is he really awake and screaming? Sometimes kids have something called "night terrors", but with those they aren't really awake- they won't respond to your words. If it's night terrors, they just outgrow it.

My son is almost 2 1/2. He used to scream in the middle of the night too. I figured out that he screamed after he had had eggs or ground beef for lunch or supper that day. I think he doesn't digest those things very well right now. He still screams in the night, but mostly at the in-laws house or my parents house. (We are even in the same room with him at the in-laws house.) Usually he is still sleeping when he screams - his eyes are closed.
When he screams here at home and he hasn't had eggs or ground beef I will just yell softly from my bed "It is Ok, go back to sleep." He is quiet again and goes back to sleep. He doesn't do it all the time. I have noticed he screams after he has watched a movie or TV show or parts of a movie or show that has violence or adult situations. (I don't like to let him watch things like that, but my husband is not very good at judging what is appropriate.) I don't know for sure why he screams when he is here at home and hasn't had the foods. I am guessing too.

As another Mom said, it is nice to know that we are not alone in this!!