Night Terror Info

My three year old does this once in a while... mostly when he is not feeling well. It always seems to calm him if we take him out of his room. We try to get him to talk to us... try to get him to look at himself in the mirror. These thing seem to help a little, but they haven't happened too often so I'm no expert. I really hope he outgrows it soon... I know how terrifying that is!

Dear L.,

I do remember my son & daughter having these when they were a bit younger. I recently was reading a parenting magazine in the pediatrician's office (Greenvale Ped's) There was an advertisement for a product called "Calms Forte 4 Kids" made by Hylands. I have used their teething tablets and earache tablets before. The advertisement said it helps with night terrors, growing pains, restlessness and sleeplessness in kids. It caught my attention because my kids both have growing pains. Here is the website with more info: http://www.hylands.com/products/calms4kids.php
It might be worth trying. Of course, with all medications, homeopathic or otherwise, you want to read the label, ingredients, and even consult your doctor.

Of course, I always recommend prayer for these things - we as parents need all the help we can get!

Blessings,
D.

My 4 year old son has night terrors and what we found works for us on most nights to to actually wake up him and get him out of that cycle. We make sure hes awake and put him back to bed. If the cycle starts over we wake him up again. The cycles usually stop after two times of this. We found that this is easier than letting him sleep through it b/c when we let him do that he was always tired. but if we break the cycle ourselves he sleeps better. I dont know if this will work for you but it works for us. Good luck.

I was just reading about this in my No Cry Sleep Solution book last night. Basically..the book said to just make sure they don't hurt themselves. The child is not aware of what is going on and will wake up not remembering anything. They are called terrors because it scares the parents so much and not the children. Maybe give your pediatrician a call to see if they have any suggestions or have a check up to make sure everything is ok with your child.

My daughter is 4 years old and she goes through night terrors and she has had them since she was 1 1/2 years old. I am at my witts end with the situation. We were told she would outgrow them by school age...she starts school next year. They said same bed time same routine every night in her own bed, we do all that and she still has them. Then they tried her on medicine and she still has them. Then we were told because of her sinus problems maybe that was causing it. Due to excessive sickness and the sleep issues she is scheduled to have her adenoids and tonsils out and tubes in her ears next month we are praying this will take care of it. If I am interested in seeing the responses that come in to you so maybe I can get a few pointers. The doctors also told me when she was doing this not to mess with her because it causes her to be even more scared and we have had that expereince, we found it is best just to watch her to make sure she doesn't hurt herself and then she eventually wakes up or either lays back down. This is very hard to see your kids go through this. She has been known to take off running out of her room and pee on herself and get so upset she almost hyper ventilates! Good luck with that, I know what you are going through.

My daughter has had problems with night terrors off and on since she was about a year old (she is almost 4 now). They seem to come on a lot less often now so I do believe they can outgrow them. In my experience they seem to come on more often when she is stressed or very tired so all I can recommend is to try to determine if there is something going on with him during the day that may be bothering him, and to make sure he is getting plenty of sleep. Another time I have noticed them is if she has too many days of inactivity in a row. For instance, if mommy is sick and she ends up spending several days mostly watching TV. I think perhaps her brain is just not getting enough activity and so goes overboard at night.
I hope this ends for you soon...I know how terribly heartwrenching it is to watch them go through this and not be able to comfort or help them.

When my stepdaughter was 8 she had night terrors. She also tended to sleep walk. As it turns out, her tonsils were overly large and would obstruct her airway when she slept, resulting in sleep apnea. In children, the symptoms of sleep apnea include snoring, sleeping in (what we would consider uncomfortable) positions, night terrors and sleep walking. Ask your pediatrician if your son's tonsils might be enlarged. There is a strong connection between enlarged tonsils, sleep apnea, and behavior problems (ADHD-like, resulting from sleep deprivation...the body does not rest during terrors, sleep walking, etc. even if the child is not awake.) My stepdaughter had to have them removed, and we haven't had the problem since. Granted, there are lots of night terrors that are just a developemental stage and resolve on their own. But I would check just to be safe, especially if they don't get better.

Hello L.,
My daughter, who is going to be five next month, has had night terrors for about two years now. She doesn't get them often but when she does it is horrible. She sits up in bed and screams. If I try to touch her she gets scared and she doesn't even know your there. She looks as if she doesn't know where she is. The doctor said she would out grow it and so far it is slowing down. She has had maybe 2 in the last four months. It is very scary but I just sit in her bed next to her and wait until she is ready to lay back down to sleep. I have never heard her say she could not breath, maybe it is the fear your child is having that makes him feel that he cannot. I wish you the best of luck. I should pass with age.
C.

I had night terror's as a child but with mine I did'nt think I could speak or move, it would be scary for me to relive as an adult. The only thing my parents could do was comfort me while I was asleep eyes open and tears running down my face, to wake him suddenly could be dangerous to you or him, his night terror's seem so real that he would defend himfelf. I did grow out of it around the age of 11.

Hi L. O. My oldest son experienced Night Terrors on and off from about 7 to 9 years old. It is not rare for that age and more common in boys. Do not try to console or speak to them, it just escalates. I tell you, when they 1st started happening, it was the most frightening thing I had ever seen. Once I found out what it was and researched it and found out how to deal with it, it made all the difference in the world. Just gently put him back in the bed, do not talk to him or try to help or console. Just help him back to bed & tuck him in. My son doesn't even remember having them. It's a form of sleepwalking. It is a nightmare in the delta phase of sleep (the deepest) instead of REM sleep when dreaming is usually done. They outgrow it on their own. Good Luck! L. R.

My almost 3 year old recently started getting night terrors. It's very frightening. All we can do is hold him and comfort him. I also think it helps if he goes to sleep with a glass of milk and some bread of something he seems to sleep better. My sister in law had them as a child and out grew them. She doesn't remember them. I hope that happens with my son.

Good Luck

Hi! I've had night terrors since I was a young child (I am 32 now). Mine seem to come around when I am particularly stressed out - I had two in a row during exam week when I was in college (my poor roomate was scared half to death!). I don't think there's much you can do for him. My only suggestion would be to make sure he gets enough sleep every day and lots of physical activity...I always found that helped me.

Anyway - good luck!!
T.

I had night terror as a child, and have never slept well as a adult, when telling my dr about my night terrors as a child I was told they can be caused from not going into a 3rd ream sleep, (deep sleep) , maybe you should ask your dr about doing a sleep study.

No personal experience, but I have friends who've dealt with it, and luckily they do outgrow it evetually.

Hope this passes quickly for you, it sounds scary!