Child Night Terrors
How to Stop Night Terrors
What are child night terrors?
Child night terrors are unpleasant events that occur during deep sleep in small children. The child appears to be awake as they are screaming for mommy and daddy in the middle of the night. They sit up, stand up or even walk around with their eyes wide open and will continue to call for their parents. Mom and dad may even be in the room trying to comfort the scared youngster, but they continue to call out for help. The parent can be right in the girl or boy's face and the child will push the parent away and still call for them.
Why can't I comfort my child?
It is very difficult to comfort a child who is having a disturbing night terror. Your main goal is to do anything you can to comfort them when they snap out of it. This can take anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes or more for the night terror to stop. It is a frustrating wait time, but you must stay strong and get through it to keep your child from being terrified when they come to.
The truth is....the child may appear to be awake, but they really are not. Yes, that's right. They are still sleeping even though their eyes are wide open, they are talking and moving about their room. They repeatedly call out for mom and dad because they do not know you are there. They can see your physical form, but they do not know it is you.
Does my child remember their night terrors?
Night terrors in small children are very scary for parents. Noone wants to see their baby go though such a terrible ordeal. You do whatever you can to comfort your child during the episodes and after they have run their cycle. While this is very traumatizing for mommy and daddy, the child simply does not remember what happened soon after. As quickly as the night terrors start, they are over and the child remembers nothing and goes right back to sleep.
While you naturally want your child to talk about this ordeal, it's not the best idea to force them to remember what happened. You have to keep in mind that they will have no idea what you are talking about and you could make things worse. You want the night terrors to go away so your child can have wonderful sleep.
*We are not professionals or doctors and we are not giving medical advice to anyone. Please consult your physician for their expert medical advice if needed.