Warning for all parents of sleepwalkers!!!

[kindredspirit]

I wasn't sure which board to post this too but I felt it was a warning worth posting. I hope from our experience this might prevent this from happening to anyone else. Last New Years my family of five 3 children ages 11,9, and 5 stayed at the Dolphin hotel for a week and it was wonderful. One night my daughter and I had gone down to the hot tub and my husband and son (9) stayed in the room to play video games. We didn't come back to the room until around midnight. When we came back our son was missing. I woke up my husband and he called security and I took off in one direction and my daughter in another screaming his name. I have never felt such fear in my life, I could barely breath!! We found him down a hall near the stair well and he was still asleep. All of the things that kept going through my mind, the what ifs. What if we had a balcony room? What if some crazy took him? What if he had fallen down the stairs? Anyway we can find the episode a little humorous now but we will never forget the feelings a terror that came over us that night and I hope no other parent has to experience anything like this. We were lucky that we found him quickly and no harm had come to him. Even if your children don't normally sleep walk they can get a little disoriented in a new place. Always remember to lock the dead bolt. In most places they are too high for children to reach anyway. You could also bring a bell to hang on the door like those Christmas bells. Do not accept a balcony room!!! We thought it would be so cool to get one but are so glad none were available.

 

[Robmom]

That's terrible. I'm glad he's ok. All that ran through my head was the episode of The Honeymooners when Norton kept sleepwalking and had to wear a bell! I don't mean to make your story into something humorous, because it's very serious. I used to sleepwalk as a child too. It's scary.

 

[queenvic]

My DS did something similar last year went we went on the Disney Cruise. We had booked a suite at the Radisson the night before and while I was sleeping, I heard the door close. I got up and opened the door and there he stood, all dazed and confused. He was trying to find the bathroom and made a wrong turn. Yikes!

 

[Lisa3]

On our first trip to WDW in Nov. 2000 youngest DS was then 4. We stayed at POR (then Dixie Landings) and he slept on the trundle bed. The first night I woke up and for some reason felt I should check on him. I looked at the trundle bed and there was no child to be found! Within seconds every light in the room was on and we found that he had rolled off the trundle and UNDER the bed! I am so glad I got up to look for him. He was still sleeping but I can only imagine if he had woken up and couldn't get out from under the bed (not to mention what might be under the bed). From that night on I asked for extra pillows and we wedged them between the trundle and the bed. Very scary to not find your child where they should be.

 

[PrincessAurora]

I use to sleepwalk. Remember not only to lock your door but to chain it was well. Usually these are high enough up that they can't unlock them. My parents were always lucky enough to hear me get up so they just followed me. Once I heard I walked out of my house, down the street 3 doors, rang my best friends doorbell, went back into my house and back into bed.

 

[Purrrrfecta]

That happened to my family when we were in Puerto Rico. One of my niece's friends came along, and she got up and headed out the front door. Luckily, my brother's wife was able to catch her in time. I thought she was playing around, but I realized she was sleepwalking! From then on we had to make sure the bolt and chain were on the door once the girls went to bed.

 

[Nuts4Disney]

Originally posted by queenvic
My DS did something similar last year went we went on the Disney Cruise. We had booked a suite at the Radisson the night before and while I was sleeping, I heard the door close. I got up and opened the door and there he stood, all dazed and confused. He was trying to find the bathroom and made a wrong turn. Yikes!

This must be more common than I thought. I wasn't a sleepwalker as a child, but something similar happened to me on vacation as a child...half asleep in middle of nite I got up to find the bathroom & found myself locked out of my room in the hall. I forgot all about it until this thread...it was a lonnng time ago...a lot of good advice given in this thread.