children and sleepwalking??

[First-timer]

has anyone ever had a child sleepwalk at night???? my dd started sleepwalking around age 8.. but not every night she does this about once every month or so...... but what makes me afraid is that we were at camp and she was trying to get out of the camper at like 4:00am. i am a very light sleeper and i wake at any noise..... i heard her fiddling the lock on the door.... and i asked her what are you doing?? she said sissy told her to go ....then she looked at me with a blank stare and i tell her to get back in bed and the next morning she says she doesnt remember anything.... then 2 months ago she stood at my bedroom door and i woke and i say what do you want?? she said can i go shovel the grass?? i tell her to go back to bed and she does...... and a few weeks ago she ran down the hall towards the kitchen i woke and ask her what are you doing?? she says i have to go to the bathroom..... but shes in the kitchen..... so then she walks right past me with a blank look on her face and she goes to the bathroom.... im standing there and i say ..... are you awake??? she then answers me like she normal.... i ask her are you sure your awake?? she said mom.... im going to the bathroom! i said then why were you running to the kitchen??? she says no i wasnt...... then she went to bed...... i was just wondering if anyone has ever expierience this before and got any advice??? vicki

 

[wheeler1]

Oy....

I am a sleep walker! My mom can tell you lots of stories from when I was a child!!! I havent done it in a few years so I am hoping I have finally outgrown it.

Last year I caught my daughter attempting to pee in the middle of the hallway, she was half squatting as if she were perched on the toilet. I scooped her up and got her on the seat for real just in time. Apparrantly there is a sleepwalking gene and I have passed it on!

Anyway, I have never tried to escape. Did things like empty out the refrigerator, empty out every dresser drawer in my room. One time I insisted I needed to wash my hair in the middle of the night...

The trying to get out of the camper is alarming though. I think if you can come up with a way of easily barricading the door, to gently deter her, without causing any real safety issues (needing to get out in case of an emergency) you'll sleep better. Unfortunately there is no way of stopping the sleep walking, that I'm aware of. And I can tell you that I never hurt myself, and I used to traipse up and down the stairs all the time. My mom, on the other hand, will tell you how she always woke up and followed me around and then had to put the contents of the refrigerator back, etc etc.

Sorry! It seems I have no advice about this, just alot of fond memories...

Good luck!

 

[Hannathy]

This thread is so funny! I'm sorry but my sister was the queen of sleep walking.
I still can laugh myself to tears thinking of some of her adventures. She would regularly get up and start getting dressed for school and then argue with my Mom that she was late, she would go downstairs and turn on the TV. She even went outside once. Our favorite but not my Mom's was when she went downstairs and took a 1/2 gallon of ice cream out and sat in on top of the refrigerator and then went back to bed. My Mom was met in the morning by a trail of melted ice cream down the front of the refrigerator and across the floor. As a teen she would come into my room and tell me to order a pizza and what kind she wanted. I could go on and on, and if she wasn't sleep walking she was talking in her sleep! Of course she also fell out of bed regularly. I was so happy when I finally got my own room. I would just put a double lock on the doors with a bell or something in case she opens it but my sister never hurt herself doing any of her adventures. She also claims she doesn't remember doing any of it. Thank You for making me smile.

 

[GraysMom]

I was a sleepwalker, probably between the ages of 6 and 9 or so. I'd get up once every couple of months to go downstairs and watch TV (my mom stayed up until around 2 AM doing laundry, etc for 4 kids, so someone was always up to keep me safe). I would have absolutely no recollection of the events, even though I'd walk down the wooden stairs, sit on the couch, watch TV for 45 min or so, have conversations (sometimes weird ones ) and then go back up to bed. We could never figure out why I would do it, or if there was a trigger. Hopefully your dd will stay safe. I like the idea of tying a bell on the top of the camper door to alert you. Maybe you could install one of those chain slide locks (like they put on front doors) way up high where she couldn't reach it?

 

[Aidensmom]

My 5 year old sleepwalks on occassion, thankfully he has a squeaky door and it wakes me up. I just do my best to lead him back into bed.

My husband is taking him camping in the near future in a tent, and it does scare me, because DH is NOT a light sleeper. I think I am going to have to make him promise to sleep spread out in front of the tent door or something.

 

[xyzabc33]

An option to the bell would be one of those little alarm they sell for traveling and such. I picked up a pack of them at Big Lots once because my toddler was a locksmith in another life and could get to the door and open it faster then you could say boo. She only got out all the way once and didnt make it farther then the front step...scared me enuf to get those alarms. Of course she never tried to go out after I got them...GO FIGURE!

My older DD sleepwalked and talked periodically till she was about 10 or so. Especially when we had had a long few days or a particularly stressful day.

I had to laugh at the shovel the grass comment...that was pretty funny you have to admit. Makes ya wonder what kind of dream a person is having. LOL--maybe she was thinking of my neighbor who used my yard to cut thru and decided to shovel the snow so they wouldnt have to get their feet wet...

 

[DisneyAddict_M]

My dd started sleepwalking when she was around 3. She has only done it a handful of times though (as far as I know). The first time I was so scared. I was in the living room watching TV and she comes out of her bedroom and walks towards the sofa where I was sitting. She has this void blank stare and I said to her, "Morgan, are you okay, baby?" She just stood there staring at me and kind of swayed back and forth a little. Then she turned and walked into the wall! My heart just about leaped into my throat. She looked like a zombie. So I just picked her up and put her back to bed. She sometimes talks in her sleep too.

A friend of mine sleepwalks a lot. She once woke up while she was running around the kitchen table!

 

[First-timer]

thanks for sharing all of your stories..... i think i like the bell idea for the camper door..... she gets very angry with me that i wont let her sleep on her top bunk... (her sister used to have the top bunk in her room but then she bought a waterbed) dd10 was so excited to get the bunk beds..... but i kept telling her that it was only for daytime to watch tv. well she argues with me all the time that she wont sleepwalk and she wants to sleep on the top bunk.... i tell her the first step is a doosy!!! no way!! its for daytime and playtime.... i get very nervous if i go away cuz dh is a very heavy sleeper.... he once slept through a fire alarm in a hotel!!! im hopeing she will outgrow this....... vicki

 

[kimmikayb]

Yep, both my older kids. The older they get, the less they do it. Ironically, my DD tried to go out the door in our camper too...a couple years ago. Luckily, my DH is a light sleeper and snores so bad he was on the sofa and heard her. Back then, we would put pans and stuff on the floor in front of the door so she's rattle them and we'd wake up. Now with our big camper...she has to go through too many doors (well 2) to get to the door and we'd hear her.

The kids have told me all kinds of things while they are sleep walking. Recently DD (who is 13) came into my room and asked why it was so dark...I said because it's 10:30...she said she was late for school and why was it so dark. I said go back to bed. She turns around and just goes.

 

[lovetoscrap]

Same story with my DD--now 11. She hasn't done it in a few years but she did scare the bejeezus out of me a few times when she tried to get out the back door and leave.

Things that upset her routine and overtiredness do tend to make it worse. She would sleepwalk more when we were on vacation then at home. I was terrified of her falling down the stairs at my in-laws.

I did keep a baby monitor in her room for a very long time so I could hear if she got up (dual purpose, she also has asthma that flares at night).

I have to agree with others. Just ****y trap the doors so you will hear her.

 

[MareQ]

This happens MOST nights with my oldest (Will be 9 next week) Last night he walked into my room crying that he was lost and needed help getting back to school. I walked him back to bed and tucked him in - het got right back up and followed me back to my room telling me he was lost and needed help getting home now - walked him back to his room - not 30 seconds later there he was in my room again - just wandering around - in my bathroom bumping into the walls, walked around inside my closet a bit - back out strolling around my room. I pretty much either have to wake him up or just wait him out till I can get him back into bed ....

My sister was a sleep talker and my brother was a sleepwalker as well - although he didn't do it as frequently as my son.

 

[Brianne]

Two of my kids sleepwalk but the one that makes me the most nervous is DH. The kids tend to seek me out even when sleepwalking & since I'm usually still awake when they do it (although I am a light sleeper to boot), I can steer them back into bed pretty easily. When they were young, I had baby gates across the bedroom doorways because of it. I'd suggest keeping their doors closed & putting bells on the doorknobs if you don't want to go the baby gate route.

DH, on the other hand, does the most bizarre things when sleepwalking. Most episodes are pretty standard for him---turning on the shower at 2-3am & getting in, that sort of thing. However, after going through 2 episodes just this week, with him doing something one of those nights that he'd absolutely kill me if I said what it was, I'm about ready to chain him to the bed at night!

 

[xyzabc33]

However, after going through 2 episodes just this week, with him doing something one of those nights that he'd absolutely kill me if I said what it was, I'm about ready to chain him to the bed at night!

OH come on, tell us tell us. Inquiring minds need to know. He doesnt have to know you told. Just hint. PLease please.

 

[Snowysmom]

My older son would occasionally sleep walk even into his later teens. It seemed to happen more when he was stressed. He would walk into the livingroom and look at the TV. He would stand there and then mumble something to DH and then go back to bed. He never remembered it the next morning. He hasn't done it at home in a few years but he has been at college for almost 4 years and who knows if he has done it there although the first 2 years he had roommates and they never mentioned anything.

 

[kaybracon]

Oy....

Last year I caught my daughter attempting to pee in the middle of the hallway, she was half squatting as if she were perched on the toilet. I scooped her up and got her on the seat for real just in time.

Good luck!

I'm glad to hear that! A few months ago in the middle of the night we heard our DD10 screaming 'Stop that! Get out of my room!', so we ran down the hall thinking somebody had broken into her room. It was my DS7, standing there trying to pee on her floor. He'd start, she'd yell, he'd stop, and then start again. I carried him to the bathroom, and he just stood there, and wouldn't go. He didn't remember anything the next morning.

We've caught him doing it 3 times since then - a few nights ago I heard something strange in our hall (tile floor), got up and looked, and stepped in a big puddle right outside his door. He was just wandering around in his room and didn't make any sense or realize what he'd done.

I hope it stops soon; I may try putting a bell on his door so we'll hear it tinkle when he gets up to do so.

 

[Callie]

When i was little I once sleptwalk outside the front door