2 year olds and tantrums?

Question

My 2 year old son just woke up from his sleep Screaming and crying thrashing all around and flipping out throwing himself back on his bed and when I tryed to hold him he Hit me... What was that was that a tantrum??? Has anyone ever had this happen to them? He just turned 2 in june and has a temper a little bit but Never that Bad. It lasted like 20min and then he just layed down and went back to sleep....I'm so confused it REALLY scared the hell outta me..Please Help!

Thankyou Everyone For your Help it Is really Scarey...I think that's what it was because he was unresponsive to me and my husband and ussally for belly pain or anything like that hes ok when we console him But this time he was like get away....Heart break!!!!

Answer 1

Breanna, it sounds exactly like a night terror. My 2 year old gets them - every night. She wakes up a few hours after she goes down, doing the exact same thing - screaming, crying, pushing me away and then will literally just fall asleep suddenly. I discussed it with my pediatrician and she reassured me that although it is frightening for a parent, they really don't remember it and won't be traumatized by it. Best thing for you do is to make sure you keep them safe, but don't wake them up or overreact to the night terror - if they wake up to you because scared it will probably scare them more. I hope your son just had a one time episode.

I have also read in some books that you can try to fully wake your child up before they have the night terror to try to break the sleep cycle before it happens. Unlike nightmares which usually happen later in the night, night terrors usually happen within the first few hours of going to bed. If you can break the sleep cycle (and then have it start over) before it happens, you may be able to prevent it from happening. I haven't tried that yet, but maybe if it continues I will.

Some other little tidbits - night terrors are considered a parasomnia, and generally kids that have one parasomnia will have others - ie, sleep walking and talking. So you may want to be prepared for that as well. My daughter has recently started talking in her sleep. Also, avoid letting your child get overtired as that may make them worse (like any parent in her right mind is going to purposely not let their child sleep, right?). I think I also read that sometimes if a child has stress in their life that can cause them as well. My daughter's started soon after we brought home baby number 2...my pediatrician wasn't convinced that was the cause, but it is something to be aware of.

I hope that helps. It's probably a good idea to mention it to your pediatrician, but until you do, rest easy knowing it is very normal and not cause for concern.

Answer 2

Wow, that sounds more like an episode of night terrors. My son went through that when he was about 2. He'd wake up in the night screaming bloody murder. He'd thrash, kick and everything. He'd be hysterical. The thing is they may look like they're awake but they aren't. The only thing you can do is try to keep him from hurting himself until he calms down. Don't try to wake him because that can make the episode worse.

Maybe this was a fluke. But if it continues to happen then take him to a pediatrician who can explain it better and give you better tips on what to do.

Answer 3

Hello. I have a God son that goes through this same thing. I have emailed this question to his mom to see if she can help u. Her name is tiggerluvnmom and if u go to her profile u can see her answers for the same type of question. She was told they were night terrors. My God son is still asleep when he is having his fits and I'm sure your son is too. Don't try to punish him or anything b/c he probably isn't awake. They say to not even wake him just try to get him to lay down and get back in a deep sleep. I wish you lots of luck!

Answer 4

If he was asleep he was " sleep walking" with night terrors. There is no way to stop it , dont try to wake him it may just aggrivate him.
The best thing is to try and direct him, walk him back to bed.Talking calmly may help.
If it happens again you will be able to tell because when he looks at you its like he does NOT see you.
It is not his fault, Look up sleep walking in children and you will get more info.
You may want to put a baby monitor in his room so you can hear if he gets up.
It can be frightening to watch and weird when they start hitting, they usually dont last very long.But they can re occur.
Been thru it. Good luck.

Answer 5

He's probably having night terrors, it takes them a while to get over it,he probably wasnt even totally awake. This is just the start too.
And the tantrums havent even begun yet....they will get worse at 3 yrs old, not sure why they're called the terrible two's because from my experience 3 yrs is even worse.

Answer 6

my 2 yr old does it too. Espeacially after when he comes home from his fathers. You cant really do anything when they are going through that but what you can do before he goes to bed is not let him be all roudy or watch tv right before bed. Try reading him a bed time story or do something sootheing for him before he goes to bed it will help it does mine. He still has them but they have calm down some. Good Luck

Answer 7

most likely he was having a bad dream. That could of be caused from watching something on TV that scared him or someone scaring him. That happen to my child a few nights after a dog scared her. She had a dream about it. The next day talk to your child. At that age they can answer so question. So just ask him what happen last night and talk to him about it.

Answer 8

If he went back to sleep and this isn't his normal behavior then no that is not a tantrum. I don't think he was awake and he was having a sleep terror. Keep an eye on it, and talk to your pediatrician if it happens again.

Its like sleep walking, they appear to be awake but aren't really. Just keep him from trying to hurt himself if it happens again and speak to his doctor.

Answer 9

night terrors is the problem with your kid you know you gotta read a nice bed time story for him and play happy games like tickling games with him so he sleep in a happy mood if possible check out in the night that hes sleeping well or not or if possible let him sleep with you 1 or 2 times so he can feel safe and dont let him woke up by himself you woke him up by loving him or by giving a soft nudge on his hands or by hugging him..

Answer 10

these are called night terrors not to be confused with the standard nightmare. check with your pediatrician about it. My daughter had them when she was tiny. Didn't know who I was. When she was older, I knew to take her to the bathroom...she would have to go but not come up enough out of the sleep to know me or what was going on.