OT- Night Terrors?

[everylastbreath]

Does anyone have any experience with "Night Terrors" in Toddlers, very good friend of mine thinks her son might be experiencing them. What was it like and how did you handle it? Do they eventually grow out of it? Any help appreciated.

 

[mickeyfan1]

My son had them at around 3. There were 2 things causing them.

1. There were trees behind the house that would cast shadows on the wall through his window, even with the curtains closed. We push pinned the curtains against the walls and clipped them closed at night.

2. His mirror over his dresser. At night he could see the reflections, but due to the darkness he had no idea what he was seeing. A sheet over the mirror at night fixed that.

He got over it probably in about 3 months? He is 31 now, so my memory isn't that good.

ETA, he would wake up screaming and shaking. It would last maybe 15 to 30 minutes. I think he was in a semi asleep state when he would see the strange things and that would trigger it.

 

[lisadr]

Night terrors are worse than nightmares because the person has trouble coming out of them. I think that you are supposed to be careful when waking them because they are so real to the person experiencing them. My friends DS sleepwalks when he's stressed out. She usually just watches him to make sure he doesn't hurt himself and keeps everything locked up real well-including the house so he can't get out at night

One thing I can say is when my DD was a baby she got sick and was prescribed steroids and they gave her terrible night terrors-she would wake up screaming! But when the medicine was done, so were the terrors.

 

[ekball]

My little guy (3) has them, I think. He'll wake up screaming/crying out of the blue and there's really nothing I can do to help calm him. It's like he's still sleeping because nothing I say or do helps, he just has to go through it. Just as quickly as they start, they stop and he's back asleep. It's wild...he'll be crying and crying then he turns over, takes a few breaths & he's asleep again. No idea I'm even in there with him.

One thing I've noticed - they tend to happen more when he's overtired. For example, he missed his nap yesterday because of a BBQ and sure enough, night terror early last night.

 

[mom~of~2]

My dd had these around 2 years old - she grew out of them within a year. A friend gave me a book that helped guide me through that period ("Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems" by Richard Ferber).

Night terrors are different from nightmares (Ferber's book helped me distinguish between night terror and nightmare). Night terrors are very scary because the child can be screaming and seem terrified but they are actually still sleeping. You are not supposed to wake the child up if they are having a night terror. I used to go into dd's room and sit next to her until it was over. For her, it always ended rather quickly and it was bizarre because one minute she would be screaming and the next she would be sleeping as if nothing happened.

 

[Maggie'sMom]

DD had them for a few months shortly after turning 1. She'd just start screaming in her sleep. They probably only lasted a few minutes, but it seemed longer.

What I read about them said you shouldn't try to wake the child. They think night terrors have something to do with the brain getting "stuck" between a lighter REM sleep and a deeper sleep. It's better to try to soothe the child so they will go into a deeper sleep rather than wake them. I would go in and gently rub DD's back and sing to her. She'd eventually stop screaming and fall back into a restful sleep. I never could pinpoint anything that was causing them. They'd happen a few times a week. She did outgrow them after a few months and we haven't had any problems since.

 

[Mickeypooh99]

My DS6 has had night terrors for a few years now. It seemed to peak last winter around his 6th birthday. It is so strange to see your child in the middle of a night terror. His first time was when we had a teenage babysitter (my niece) here and DH and I were out to dinner. She called us very panicked. DS will cry and scream and his heart beat gets really fast his little body is just shaking. He is breathing so fast. He talks to us, but it makes no sense. He will point at the wall? There is never anything there. Sometimes he is trying to fight the wall, walking around like he is confused. His eyes are open, but he doesn't see you. It really can be scary. We have learned some ways to help prevent some, but not all night terrors.

1. No TV after dinner. Not even the news or having a TV on in another room.

2. Keep stimulation to a minimum in the evening. Make bedtime soothing.

3. If he wakes up with a night terror, don't try to wake him up. It seems to make him worse. We just hold him, and try to tell him to go back to sleep. Keep him from hurting himself.

4. His night terrors usually start within 1 hour of bedtime. If he can get into a deep sleep by then, then we are usually okay for the night. If he has 1 night terror, he usually wakes up 1/2 an hour later and has another.

FYI, He had them every night while we were at disney last November. Lots of stimulation=lots of night terrors. Also we went to a Detroit Pistons basketball game in January. That was a bad night.

It is harder on the parents, than the kids I think. My DS doesn't even remember them in the morning.

 

[everylastbreath]

This child is trashing around trying to hurt himself, he throws his head at the wall / floor, is that part of it? She has been holding him very tightly to keep him from hurting himself, is that the best way to handle it? He becomes very physical and doesn't seem to recognize her or anyone else.

 

[mickeyfan1]

This child is trashing around trying to hurt himself, he throws his head at the wall / floor, is that part of it? She has been holding him very tightly to keep him from hurting himself, is that the best way to handle it? He becomes very physical and doesn't seem to recognize her or anyone else.

That sounds more serious than just night mares and night terrors. If it was me, I would take the child to the pediatrician, just to make sure there isn't something else going on.

 

[ceese]

i know if i tried to hold my dd it would make it worse. i would just sit in the bed with her and rub her back (don't think it helped much) and make sure she didn't get out of bed. i did talk calmly and softly to her. i don't know if that helped either. i'm kinda thinking those things did help because when my dh would go in there he had rougher approach just because he's a man. it was awful but she didn't have a clue come morning. we did try to do a long evening calm down and keep a consistant bed time. like a pp said if they're too tired or overstimulated you can pretty much know it's coming.

 

[Subrbnmommy]

my DD4 started having Night Terrors when she was 2. When she has them, we have trouble waking her, her eyes are open & she screams. Sometimes she points at her wall and screams in terror, she usually does not recognize us. Sometimes it scares her if we try to approach her and sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes she tries to kick us if we approach her. Sometimes they last a few minutes and sometimes they last 20 minutes. We usually can't wake her but we try to calm her.

I have noticed 2 things.
1. Her triggers seem to be when she is overtired or when she is anxious - 1st day of school, new daycare, my husband being away on business...
2. She seems to be able to hear us. I repeat Mommy's here your ok in a soothing voice and she responds to my voice, it helps calm her. I also shake her favourite teddy, it rattles, and that calms her.

 

[tam626]

That sounds more serious than just night mares and night terrors. If it was me, I would take the child to the pediatrician, just to make sure there isn't something else going on.

Sounds like night terrors to me. My son actually started getting them at 9 months. He looked awake & would scream & cry but look straight through you. They do not remember night terrors. Nightmares are "bad dreams" & those are the ones that scare kids & most remember them. Night terrors occur during the transition between 2 of the sleep stages. Holding them makes it worse because they feel trapped. If they are banging their head, I would try to put a pillow between them & the wall or carefully move them but don't restrain them. I tried holding my son before I did a little research on it & it always made it worse.

 

[lisadr]

This child is trashing around trying to hurt himself, he throws his head at the wall / floor, is that part of it? She has been holding him very tightly to keep him from hurting himself, is that the best way to handle it? He becomes very physical and doesn't seem to recognize her or anyone else.

That is a night terror. I agree that they should probably bring him to the doc, but the thing about him not knowing where he is or recognizing his ma are classic symptoms of night terrors-that's why they are so dangerous-especially if you are smaller (or even if you're not) then the person having one-you could easily get hurt by them because they "wake up" still in the bad dream.

 

[janloz]

My DD7 1/2 has had night terrors for around 5 years. As PP have stated, they usually occur when she is over tired and out of normal routine. We have found over the years some ways to "bring her out of it". One is singing to her, asking her simple questions like "What is your name? or "Who am I?" and most recently watching tv for about 2 minutes. As quickly as it starts, it is over and she is back to sleep and doesn't remember it the next day. She initially would not let us touch her and would want to be anywhere but her room during these episodes but that has passed with time. They have lessended over the years.

It is SOOOO scary for parents when it happens for the first time since we couldn't help her or comfort her. We worked with our pediatrician to find the triggers and way to soothe her which helped a lot.

 

[everylastbreath]

Holding them makes it worse because they feel trapped. If they are banging their head, I would try to put a pillow between them & the wall or carefully move them but don't restrain them. I tried holding my son before I did a little research on it & it always made it worse.

If she didn't restraint him, he might knock himself unconsious, she has said he literally throws his body around (he is 2 1/2, don't know if I mentioned this) How would you keep him from hurting himself? Has any child really hurt themselves during a "night terror" attacK?

 

[mjkacmom]

What I found was a correlation between a full bladder and a sleep cycle, usually 1 - 2 hours into sleep. If I could calm them enough, and get them to use the toilet (with me holding them on), it ended it. Of course, that didn't help when they were babies.

 

[tmarquez]

DD(5) had a spell of night terrors when she was 3-ish. It was so scary for us. She would scream bloody murder and also thrash around, I would restrain her so she didn't get hurt. We would try to talk to her, but it was like we weren't even there. Her eyes would be wide open and she would talk...but she wasn't really THERE, you know? I'd say the episodes would last about 20 minutes...and she would just all of a sudden be asleep. In the morning she would have no recollection at all.

It finally just went away on it's own after a few months. We did take her to the DR because it freaked me out. He said it was night terrors and it would resolve itself.

Good luck to your friend...I know it's a hard thing to watch your little one go through.

 

[ISP2MCO]

This child is trashing around trying to hurt himself, he throws his head at the wall / floor, is that part of it? She has been holding him very tightly to keep him from hurting himself, is that the best way to handle it? He becomes very physical and doesn't seem to recognize her or anyone else.

This was my son between the age of 1.5 and 2yo. He would wake up screaming and when i went to comfort him that is when the thrashing and swinging of the arms would begin. I feel for your friend. It is very scary to witness especially when your child looks right in your eyes but there is no recognition. My ped. did describe this as a night terror. Often brought on by changes in the child's routine. We had just recently taken him from a crib to a toddler bed. He was very tall for his age and instead of climbing out of crib he would lean over rail and fall out. . It didnt happen every night and only for a few months. I also remember it happening at a hotel room when we went away for the weekend.

 

[tyniknate]

Thought we were the only family dealing with this. DS, 3 yrs, has them about three times a week. We figured what can be so bad to a three year old? Have been to the pediatrician and she recommended two things....NO food after dinner and make sure dinner is AT LEAST two hours before bedtime. The other was the stimulation thing. The more stimulation during the day, the harder it is for the brain to shut down for sleep. Doesn't bode well for our upcoming Disney trip. The good thing is that he, also, doesn't remember them in the morning.

 

[SMP]

My DS6 has had night terrors for a few years now. It seemed to peak last winter around his 6th birthday. It is so strange to see your child in the middle of a night terror. His first time was when we had a teenage babysitter (my niece) here and DH and I were out to dinner. She called us very panicked. DS will cry and scream and his heart beat gets really fast his little body is just shaking. He is breathing so fast. He talks to us, but it makes no sense. He will point at the wall? There is never anything there. Sometimes he is trying to fight the wall, walking around like he is confused. His eyes are open, but he doesn't see you. It really can be scary. We have learned some ways to help prevent some, but not all night terrors.

1. No TV after dinner. Not even the news or having a TV on in another room.

2. Keep stimulation to a minimum in the evening. Make bedtime soothing.

3. If he wakes up with a night terror, don't try to wake him up. It seems to make him worse. We just hold him, and try to tell him to go back to sleep. Keep him from hurting himself.

4. His night terrors usually start within 1 hour of bedtime. If he can get into a deep sleep by then, then we are usually okay for the night. If he has 1 night terror, he usually wakes up 1/2 an hour later and has another.

FYI, He had them every night while we were at disney last November. Lots of stimulation=lots of night terrors. Also we went to a Detroit Pistons basketball game in January. That was a bad night.

It is harder on the parents, than the kids I think. My DS doesn't even remember them in the morning.

I read your reply and ditto with my 4 year old daughter. It is harder on us. She remembers nothing the next morning. We have been going through them now for about two years. When she had them when we were at BCV I worried our neighbors heard her screaming. Our poor pumpkin - your heart breaks for them.