3 Yr old Nightmares

malky800

Sat, Nov 28 2009, 10:43 pm

My 3yr old has started this new thing, in the past week almost every other night he's woken up just about 1/2 hour after he's fallen asleep, crying hysterically. I go in calm him down and he falls right back asleep.
The first few times I thought it was becuase he falls asleep in these funny positions, he probably wakes up with a cramp.
Tonight he woke up crying, he told my hub, he wanted to go home.
Is this a nightmare? I find it so strange that it's so early in his sleeping pattern (REM, ROM Sleeping time, something like that). I always imagines nightmares at like 2 AM, not so early on in the night.
What's the first thing I should try?

yaelw

Mon, Nov 30 2009, 9:29 pm

sounds like night terrors.... my son had them but when he was younger than 3 not yet 2. Did your child recently stop napping during the day? That was what caused my son to have them. They are not actual nightmares - but are "sudden partial wakenings" caused when the child transitions from one level of sleep to the next and the child is not actually awake during the episode. It is key that you say that it happens earlier in the night - that is the point of transition. You have to "wake up" the child - we qould turn on thr light play music etc and as soon as he "woke up" he calmed down and went peacefully to sleep again. It lasted for maybe a month or so and then my sons sleeping patterend matured so that he was able to make this transition from one level of sleep to the next with out the night terror. Google night terrors and you can read more detailed explanations etc.