Has anyone had experience with your child having nightmares or night terrors? My 4 year old daughter has been waking up every night with something. I am not sure that it is either of these things, from all the information I have found on line and in some books I have read. It happens late in the night, between 1230am and 4am. She usually goes to sleep around 9pm at the latest. So she wakes up screaming, kicking, yelling for me, crying loudly; when I get in her room she's usually back asleep, or halfway awake & half asleep. I can wake her out of it (which makes me lean toward dismissing the night terror idea, also that it's the 2nd half of the night & not the first), but once she wakes up she doesn't remember it. I would think it is a nightmare, except that she does not even remember waking up or being scared. Doesn't even know she was crying. She also wets the bed when this happens. She may remember me changing her bed & her clothes the next day when she wakes up, but she does not remember what led up to it at all!
If anyone has any experience or suggestions to share, that would be great. I have been researching it all week. I have started keeping a log of when it happens, what time, what she ate that day, what she does when she wakes up & what I do for her when she wakes up. This is just in case I take her to the Dr. I can give her the log. I don't know if it's even anything i should consider going to the Dr. for...

By Cat on Saturday, January 29, 2005 - 03:41 pm:

My oldest had night terrors on and off from the time he was just a couple years old until he was about 9 or 10 (he's 11 now). His were usually about an hour after he'd fallen asleep. He usually had them if he was over-tired or had been over-stimulated within a couple hours of bedtime. He also had problems wetting the bed, and a lot of the time when he was a bit older (like 8-10) he'd wake up crying, again about an hour after falling asleep, and we'd take him in the bathroom and he'd use the toilet and then we'd put him back to bed. He wouldn't remember any of it in the morning. So I think for him, it was either being over-tired or stressed, or having to use the bathroom and not being able to fully wake up to do that. The latter sounds like what you're going through with your dd. Some kids are VERY heavy sleepers, and even waking them during the night to use the bathroom is difficult. I am by NO means an expert, but I'm just sharing my experience with my ds and my opinions. It's a great idea to keep the log. Does she have a well-child appointment any time soon? She'll need a physical before she starts kindergarten (most places require them anyway) That would be a good time to bring this up to the doc. Good luck, and welcome to MomsView! This really is the greatest message board on the web, imho. I'm "known" some of these women for a little over 8 years now, and have even had the pleasure to meet a few in person. You'll love this site.

By Trina~moderator on Saturday, January 29, 2005 - 05:03 pm:

My DS had night terrors at that age. They usually came on when he was over tired or his routine was messed up for whatever reason.

A good article:

Night terrors: Why they happen and what to do about them

By Tink on Saturday, January 29, 2005 - 05:25 pm:

My brother and my ds had these. My son's were really bad when he was 2 and 3 Now he only gets them if he is super-tired or overstimulated. They were about an hour after he went to sleep also and he was impossible to wake up or console. They would last about half an hour or an hour. I'd talk it over with your pediatrician during the next check up.

By Luvn29 on Saturday, January 29, 2005 - 10:05 pm:

My daughter(8) has suffered from night terrors her entire life, from when she was a baby.

Of course, I didn't realize what was going on when she was a baby, but now I do.

When she was younger, they were worse and more frequent. And they lasted longer. And I absolutely could not wake her out of one. They happened more during the summer when she had been running herself to death playing and was over tired.

She is now eight. She still "wakes" up confused sometimes at night. Oftentimes though, she will not realize what is going on, and isn't as "terrorized" as she used to be. I can gently talk her into lying down and going back to "sleep" even though she actually already is.

From what I can tell you, night terrors can vary greatly.

Now, my son will have nightmares sometimes. Never night terrors. Huge difference. But, a lot of the time, he will not remember them at all. He'll wake up scared, but not know why.

The key to these things are usually: night terrors, you are not awake while frightened. Your mind is asleep, your body is awake. It is very difficult to wake a person when they are in this state. When they wake, they have no memory of this episode, and usually no fear either. IF the child awakens, which doesn't usually happen, they go back to sleep easily because they don't remember this episode. Typically, you just have to get the "body" to lie back down and go back to sleep, as the mind still is.

Nightmares, the person is asleep, has a bad dream, wakes up, and is still scared from the MEMORY of the dream. Typically, the child is awake or easily awakened while they are frightened, and most of the time, the fear stems from waking and still being scared. It is difficult for a child to go back to sleep often times because they are still having frightening thoughts of the dream.

Now, with all this said. This is just typical behavior. All children are different, and these things can vary greatly. But from all I have personally dealt with for eight years, and all I have read, and discussed with my pediatrician, this is what I have learned to be the "norm" if it can be called that.

A lot of kids outgrow them. My dd has in a sense, she rarely has a "severe" one anymore, and they don't last but for a few minutes most of the time, compared with an hour and a half at a time when she was younger.

Sorry this rambled on so much, but I really feel for any child that has to go through this, as well as the parents. It is so difficult. You feel so helpless at times.

Good luck with this!

By Mommierenee on Monday, January 31, 2005 - 08:01 pm:

Thanks Luvn, Tink, Trina & Cat!
I am a little concerned, because she has all the signs of having "night terrors", except that it happens in the 2nd half of the night. I know that it's not a nightmare only because she isn't scared once she wakes up. She does wake out of it, but not always right away. I will just try not to worry so much. It's good to know that other moms have also gone through this, too. That does put my mind a little at ease. oh, and thanks for the article, Trina!

By Elizabeth704 on Tuesday, February 1, 2005 - 10:34 am:

Hello, I have a strange sounding question - Have you ever had her tonsils checked. My 4 yo son always had enlarged tonsils, but they never gave us any problems. Last year, he was having many bad dreams and was bed wetting every night (after being completely potty trained). We and the pediatrician blamed it on moving to a new home and the birth of my daughter. He then began to stay sick constantly when preschool started last August. We finally saw an ENT specialist who said his tonsils were huge and that all of this (especially the bedwetting)was a sign of sleep apnea because of the enlarged tonsils. We later realized that alot of behavioral issues we were facing during the day were also because of sleep deprivation.

Who would've known that all of this was because of tonsils and adenoids. We had them removed quickly - all has resolved.

By Luvn29 on Tuesday, February 1, 2005 - 02:12 pm:

By the way, my daughter has had her night terrors at all times during the night. They don't HAVE to be the first half of the night. I've been up with her between two and four in the morning before.

By Mommierenee on Tuesday, February 1, 2005 - 02:56 pm:

really, Elizabeth? I will definately mention that to the Dr. next time!
And thanks Luvn, cause all the webpages I have found said that it happens in the first half of the night, that's why I was so worried that it could be something more serious! That makes me feel a little better, too.

By Insaneusmcwife on Wednesday, February 2, 2005 - 09:18 am:

my dd has been having them, infact we were up most of the night last night.