Night Terrors - Saint Paul,MN

My daughter also had night terrors. She's now 11, and has outgrown them. What really helped with her was to cut out the caffine. No caffinated soda after 3. And to watch how much chocolate she ate in the evenings. Good luck. The night terrors suck. I never had the heart to let her scream. We always woke her up, gave her a drink and put her back to bed. I know all the books and even doctors say to let them be, but after waking her and giving her a drink, she would sleep through the night.

You may want to try the flower essence Mimulus.

My daughter stopped at around 7 and started them about 3 1/2. I am not sure what caused them but we rejoiced when they finally stopped.

Hang in there =)

J. - this is going to sound like very strange advice but if I were you, I would call my favorite neurologist/chiropractic clinic - Synapse. They are located in Eagan. There are 3 doctors there and they are great but my favorite is Dr. Troy Spurrill. It's amazing the things that they are doing in that clinic. If you want some personal details, please contact me.

If you decide to check them out, please let them know that I referred you.

Good luck,

D. Goodman

I know I'm late here, but I was out of town and just saw this. My son has been having night terrors on and off since he was about 3. He will be 13 in a couple of weeks. Most kids outgrow them, but some don't. My son had them pretty frequently at about age 7. He didn't have any for about two years at approx. ages 10 and 11 and then they started again at age 12. In our son's case they are definitely related to fatigue and sometimes stress. I try to monitor that. The only reason I can think of for the return of the night terrors is that he started middle school. The bus comes much earlier so he gets less sleep and of course there is more homework, etc., although that doesn't really seem to bother him. My son does go on sleepovers except that I didn't let him do his first sleepover (other than grandparents) until age 9, in part because of the night terrors and his sleep issues. He has never had a night terror on a sleepover, although I have explained them to the grandparents so they would know what to expect. When I wouldn't let him do sleepovers I just explained the night terrors to the parents of his friends and most of them were very understanding. It probably wouldn't hurt to talk to her doctor about it and ask if she should be tested for anything, but I think some people are just prone to night terrors and some even have them as adults, although that is fairly rare. I know how frightening they are!! Good luck.

Hi J.:
My son had night terrors around 3 yrs of age. I used "monster spray" in his room. Take a trigger spray bottle of water add a scent, mommy's colone, daddy's after shave, or an essential oil. Make it real light, spray the room under the windows and around the bed and across the doorway. Make sure she is with you when you do it. Explain to her that Monsters can't cross the monster spray. A friend of mine used a Glade room freshner just put a piece of plain white paper over the lable covering it completely and writing on it "Monster Spray". It works quite well it seems that as long as they can smell the Monster Spray they know they are safe and will sleep well.
Kids imagine all sorts of things we parents never hear of. So she may be having the night terrors because she is imagining everything and anything could happen. They see a news story about a car accident and they get scared that Mommy and Daddy will die in an accident. They don't usualy talk about the fear but they do dream about it. Except it may come out in the dream as though a monster is coming after them.
I wouldn't worry too much about it night terors are a normal part of childhood.

this are common and fine. kids do grow out of them, though i dont know at what age they stop completely.

i had them when i was a child, and so did my son. theres nothing wrong with your child, she has not had any trauma and violent tv etc wont cause them. she has no recollection of them and she wont, so thats ok too. she isnt awake, she really is still sleeping. there is some advice out there that says to watch her but not interact, i call that advice bull. you do what you feel you need to do to comfort her. ive found with my son that if i snuggle him and sing him a song, do the prayer and 'bedtime routine' that he stops faster than if i did nothing at all.

one thing that you can do is try to wake her up around the time it usually happens. take her to the bathroom, get her a drink of water, stuff thats really low key. it is thought that night terrors happen to children when they are switching between sleep stages, so if you know how long after falling asleep that she does it, great! just wake her up a few minutes before that and see if that helps

you can certainly talk to her doctor, but i assure you that its most likely normal. just do what you can until she simply grows out of it. its unclear why some children get them. it really has no definate cause that they know of. just have patience and give her comfort if that helps all of you.

another thing that could be possible is if you konw it is in a cycle, perhaps during that cycle she could sleep on a matress or on the floor in your room so that she would be right close to you when of if it happens.

good luck.
www.askdrsears.com might have some info about it, but even in the 20some years since i was a kid, there isnt anything new. shes normal, shes healthy and shes going to grow out of it. :D

its wierd that you havent heard of these before. if you get to the sleepover age and its still happening, just talk to the parent, tell them that she has these night terrors, and thought they seem scary they are not harmful, there is nothing wrong with your daughter, and she will grow out of them. the more relaxed about it you are, the better for another parent. however, let them know that it is perfectly ok for them to say no to the sleepover. you can always have a sleepover at your house instead. :D

good luck. rest assured, shes really going to be fine. :D

My also daughter had night terrors. She was about 4 when they started. We took her to the Dr and were told that there was nothing that we could do. We were told to not try and wake her up just monitor for her safety. It was very frustrating and I felt helpless. She would wake up in the morning with bruises on her legs because she would kick herself during the night terrors. She is 15 now and the night terrors have subsided dramaticly over the years. During sleep overs I always told the parents what to expect and Kim would try to explain it to her friends. As she grew older, her friends would joke with her about it in the morning when they woke up. It really didn't keep her from being invited to her friends homes. That was our experience. I am sorry that it probably wasn't helpful or not what you were hoping to hear but over the last 11 years Drs. may have come up with a different solutions to night terrors. Now at 15, Kim's night terrors sound like she is just talking or grunting in her sleep. There isn't anymore screaming or kicking.

HI J.,

My daughter, who is now 22 years old, used to have night terrors when she was about your daughter's age. The doctor told me it was pretty normal and that most kids outgrow it. I know they can seem pretty disruptive and scary, but she did outgrow it. One time she came into our room and began to hit me. We had a close relationship just like you do. It was disturbing. She had no memory of it the next day. I remember crying and trying to comfort her the first time it happened. I think she had about three episodes, and then they were gone. She was our first child and the oldest of four. None of the other kids ever had night terrors. I remember that age being a very sensitive age for her. I hope your daughter passes through this quickly. I am sure she will outgrow it.

Take care,
M.