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Nightmares and night terrors
Jo Douglas, author of Toddler Troubles, on what you can do when your child is plagued by nightmares and night terrorsNightmares are bad dreams which occur during the light phase of sleep (rapid-eye-movement sleep), and we have all experienced them. Once children can talk, they are able to describe that they are having bad dreams from about the age of two years. This age also coincides with a surge in the frequency of nightmares that may be linked to the great developmental changes that are occurring at this time.
Some nightmares are about specific situations like witches, crocodiles or nasty people. Others may be about being chased, being hurt or falling. But the main feature is that your child wakes up feeling frightened and can remember what happened in his dream. He needs reassurance and a cuddle and will often go back to sleep with no problem. Nightmares are often triggered by something that happened in the day, events in a story or something seen on television.
Night terrors
Night terrors are very different from these and occur during deep sleep. Your child may sweat and thrash around in bed or scream. He may have his eyes open and may be waving his arms around, but he is not awake. In the morning he will have no memory of the episode. It is difficult to wake your child up when he is in this state, so it is best just to sit with him until he calms down.
It is not a sign of any deep psychological disturbance or fear. Don't get worried about it. He will settle again after 5 to 15 minutes and will know nothing about it. This phase will be over quite rapidly but may re-emerge at different points for short periods, as he grows older. If you are really concerned about it and it is disturbing the household severely, then watch out for the restlessness that is often the starting point for the night terrors. As soon as your child starts to show signs of sweating or moving, then wake him up and disturb the sleep rhythm so that he doesn't drop into the deep sleep phase. This can often prevent the night terror from occurring, but it means that you need to be very aware of the pattern of his sleeping, and you still have to get up.
More Toddler Troubles...
- Keep your relationship revved up
- Positive parenting
- Stop problem behaviour before it starts
- Increasing your child's self-confidence and self-esteem
- How can I be firm without losing my temper?
- Caring for more than one
- My child is a worrier
- Back to Toddler Troubles main page
Excerpted with permission of the publisher John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. fromToddler Troubles by Jo Douglas. Copyright © 2002 by John Wiley & Sons,Ltd. This book is also available at Wiley Europe, or by calling 44-1243 779-777.
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