Night Terrors in 3 year old child?

Question

I am at my wits end my 3 year old the last couple of nights keeps waking up screaming like someone is trying to kill him. The only way me or my husband can calm him down is by rocking him back and forth if we do anything else he starts screaming even harder. Does these sounds like night terrors if they are what do I do?

Answer 1

My son would wake up screaming too!! I found out he wanted my attention when we moved in with my boyfriend and he went in to check on him. All of a sudden the child who was so convincingly dead asleep, just out of it and screaming when I would go in would look at my boyfriend and whisper "I want my mom"!!

I'm not saying that's what your son is doing but I know your frustration. My son screamed nightly for years. He is 6 and I am JUST learning how to sleep through the night!!!

What makes me suspect is that he screams harder when you try anything else but rocking him. This is unusual with night terrors. The kids who are having true night terrors as I understand them do not react like that. I'm not completely sure though so I'd try a gentle approach to discourage the screaming to see if it works.

What did work for us was to spend about 15-20 minutes a night with my son every night before bed reading and then cuddling and talking with the lights out. We would talk about "happy things" and about having good dreams. A friend of mine who is Native American made him a special dream catcher. I tuck him in and give him kisses and if he doesn't wake up screaming he gets to watch cartoons in the morning (his favorite). You can see if your son reacts to conversations about his screaming episodes.

I would suggest asking his doctor about it and finding out if there is anything you can do if it continues.

Good luck.

Answer 2

Just a little note to add to most of the good things on here - waking your child up from a night terror is not good. Children can sense when you are upset or scared and it will make them scared and upset also if you wake them up. Just do what you've been doing and hold him until he stops and falls back to sleep. Whisper calming things to him, rock him back and forth. You are already doing what you're supposed to be doing. The first answer is really good. I just wanted to add that you make sure not to wake up your child. It's a normal part of life, even if it's a little unsettling. He'll grow out of it.

Answer 3

my daughter does the same thing every now and then and she is only 17 months old. i read in a book recently that when they are that little they have trouble discerning reality from imagination. if you were watching tv and someone got shot or something else that would seem insignificant at the time is probably what the problem is. i notice that when i watch a lot of CSI my daughter wakes up in the middle of the night. It is not a big deal. they will grow out of it. all you can do is console her when it happens. even if my daughter is sleeping and she screams out i go in her room and say very queitly that its ok, mommies here and i love you and she snuggles back down and stops screaming. sometimes i very gently touch her back. just try to watch what you watch on tv or whatever. it could be something very small. just be there for her is all you can do. if you want talk to your doctor about it but honestly i dont think its a problem.

Answer 4

Yes that does sound like night terrors. Your child could be half asleep when these episodes start. He is still dreaming but is moving around. The only thing you can do is to rock him back to sleep.
You can learn more about night terrors at this site:
http://www.nightterrors.org/

Answer 5

I have dream catchers above each bed in my house. Depending on how well he understands, you could try to explain the concept of it catching bad dreams and letting good dreams through. Say a little prayer together before bedtime, and not the one that says "If I die before I wake..." If he knows he's getting outside help, it might calm him down a little and help the terrors to go away. Until they do, rocking and comforting is all you can do. Good luck to you and Sweet Dreams...
Blessings

Answer 6

I have a 4 year old that does this too, He has been doing this for about a year now but he wont let you hold him, He will call your name and walk around in circles he will come up to you and look right at you and say "mommy, mommy" but doesnt seem to see you or know who you are...The only thing that seems to work for him is to let him be..I let him walk around, I talk to him and just make sure everything is out of his way that might hurt him he eventually stops, goes pee and goes back to sleep, He never remembers any of it in the morning and I never try to wake him up while he is doing this.

Answer 7

when he "wakes" with the terrors he in not awake, he is still asleep and doesnt know you or anything around him.
My son did the same thing long before they were called night terrors.
Sadly I didnt know what to do until he grew out of them himself.
What you need to do is after he has been sleeping for about an hour go in and wake him up and take him potty and give him a little bit of water and then put him to bed with a kiss and love.
If he wakes up with the terrors then the only way I got my son calmed down was strip him and climb in the shower with him.
He will wake up surprised and you just need to love all over him and dry him (and you) get pjs back on and go potty and sip of water. The showering wont hurt him, it worked for mine and it is the only way to wake him up from the terrors. I tried everything else until I thought of that.
He will grow out of it eventually. You should also contact your doc and let him know what is going on.

Answer 8

You just continue to soothe him and reassure him that mommy and daddy are there with him...and everything is alright!!!

This (unfortunately!) ...is a normal phase that children go through.
Some children are more sensitive to things than others...
Make sure that the ENTIRE evening is a calm, quiet safe time...no tv...including age appropriate videos...their little minds are not mature enough to process all that they see...and even their favorite shows and videos can become scary when they sleep...
Their "world" is just starting to expand at this age...the simple things that seem to bring them pleasure by day, can get confusing to them when they sleep! And they are just starting to realize that the "world" is bigger and includes more than just themselves...their mommy and daddy, and so it may not be as safe as they have always thought it was as an infant!!!!
These night mares should pass with plenty of reassurance from you.
Keep bed time safe and comforting...and maybe add a small 2 watt night light in the room.

Good luck...I know that this is just as hard on you and your husband as it is on your baby!!! It is really frustrating to feel so helpless as parents...as we want to make everything "right" for our children!!!

Answer 9

When you put him down at night say a prayer every night.

Pray for god to remove any negative past life experiences that may have come over in this life. And surround him with the white light of the holy spirit.

Keep rocking him and assuring him he is safe and nothing is going to happen to him.

Night terrors are horrible and just heartbreaking to hear a 3 year old going thru this. Due give it a try because he is going to start being afraid to go to sleep.

Answer 10

My little brother kept doing that a few months ago. There isn't really anything you can do. He isn't old enough yet to realise that these are just dreams or to separate them from reality. Just keep comforting him the way you are already, and he should stop in a few days.