how do u deal with your childs nightmares and crying in the middle of the night?

Question

sleep at brother in laws his three year old had a night mare. scared me i was trying to wake her up to tell her it was a dream she wouldn't wake up. I felt half drunkLOL. (NOT really drinking for clerification) I was practically ready to take her to disney world in the middle of the night to get her to stop crying! Please tell me i'll get better at this with experiance! I've heard about night terrors, Let me tell you I am sure that would put me in the hospital from a heart attack

sorry, I was spending the night at my brother-in -laws.He eventually took her to their room to sleep-She is his daughter.

Brother-in-law had been working all day at there new house and was exusted the next morning his wife was telling us after a few min he put the child in bed with his wife and slept in the closet. He was like it was her turn i just couldn't take it anymore.

Answer 1

If you couldn't wake her up, that was a night terror. They are a horrible terror for the caregiver, the kid doesn't usually even remember it. It does feel like you are drunk or stuck moving through Jello or like you just can't make your head work. They are horrible. You will never get better, make yourself a cup of tea and try to calm down. Almost all kids grow out of it by 6. I have three kids and there is nothing worse than a night terror. I still feel a little shaken afterward, but I am better able to calm down and realize that there is nothing wrong and can go back to sleep. Good luck!

Answer 2

I have suffered from night terrors and nightmares since I was a child. Its never gone away. I can answer this for you from the child's perspective.

You can't take the fear away.

A night terror is very difficult to wake someone from, touching them before they are fully awake can make their terror multiply. A nightmare is easy to wake from.

Once you are SURE the child is awake, have her sit up, turn the lights on, take a sip of water and tell you exactly what happened in the dream. Then talk about something else. It is important to be fully awake and NOT thinking about the dream. If the person is still half sleepy or thinking about it, they likely will go back into the same dream again.

Night terrors feel like absolute most evil thing in all of existence is SLOWLY coming across the room to get you. You feel you can not move nor can you scream. If you are lucky, someone comes and wakes you up and rescues you. If you are not, the evil tries to suffocate you by sitting on your chest.

(that's the normal pattern). It feels very real and like you are awake while it is happening. It is difficult for an adult to understand that they were asleep, let alone a child.

A nightmare can seem just as real, but the inability to move or scream is different.

As a child when I would wake like this, I felt that if I were alone in the room, it would get me again. I also felt that it would come after me no matter where I was in the house, but that it wasn't strong enough to harm my parents or my big sister.

The child needs to find a safety net, because they know that alone, they are vulnerable.

Do you best to make the child feel safe. Being safe from what is actually your own mind, is VERY difficult.

Keep up the good work, it can be trying, but believe me, it is harder on her.

oh, a note after reading an answer above. The book or movie watched has little to do with the nightmare, every story has a challenge and can become part of the dream. The WORST thing in the world for me to hear before bed was bible stories! It brought new meaning to the term "the fear of god!" My shrieks put the fear of god in the neighbours! I've woken people in the next house howling like a banshee trying to wake myself out of nightmares, all the while my parents next to me trying to do the same!

Answer 3

He could desire to be dreaming, however the legs issues could be an illustration that he's getting abdomen pains interior the night. Is there any probability he the two desires to have a bland snack closer to mattress time (which might keep his abdomen from getting empty and in keeping with probability inflicting pains)? on the different hand, is there any probability he's eating or eating something too on the threshold of sleep time that's isn't actual digested and is inflicting discomfort? If he has a bowel pass interior the night he could desire to be having some irregularity-appropriate pains. Is there any probability (abdomen discomfort subject aside) the room is slightly too chilly, and he's waking up because of the fact of it? Is there any probability he's purely too lively earlier he is going to sleep (which makes getting a physically powerful sleep much less probably). those are my guesses.

Answer 4

I had terrible nightmares all my childhood. The best thing I think happened for me to stop this affliction, and that is how we should perceive this, an affliction. is jazz music, Nat King Cole. It will put you both into a very comfortable state. Tell your nephew to just yell out to the ghosts to go away and let him sleep and say a prayer for 'his' help in this way. I don't know why this helped me tremendously. Tell your nephew he has the control to what happens in his home, and not to allow this to continue, it will take a bit before he gets a hold on this concept, and your patience, but believe me, try it. I had to crawl in my folks' bed nightly, crying. It's a wonder how they had children after me! I said a prayer for him, and this time, I say give him confidence. That is a large issue in these matters. I'm not a doc, so there are probably other assessments out there that are plausible, perhaps in combination of things. Good luck to you all, he sounds like a nice fellow.

Answer 5

I had night terrors as a child and my son had them too. The foolproof method that worked for both of us was a "monster stick". Now it sounds kind of corny but most nightmares stem from insecurity somewhere. I painted a tongue depressor and wrote NO MONSTERS on itand gave it to him before bed each night. After a few of nights there were no more dreams but the sticks had to be around for around for bedtime for about 6 months. He doesn't even remember the sticks anymore (he is 7 now) and hasn't had anymore bad dreams other than the usual once or twice a year.

Answer 6

First, this is apparently one incident, with a child that is not yours. It can be different when it's your own child.

I know this sounds harsh, but I think you're not really supposed to try to wake them up. You remember dreams more vividly when they are incomplete (by waking up in the middle of the dream), so if she was having a nightmare and didn't actually wake up, it's likely she'd remember nothing of it in the morning. With this method, be there physically with her, brushing her hair away from her face, holding her, speaking softly to her, treating her the way you would if she were panicking in an alert state.

If you really want her to wake up, pick her up and take her to a well lit room, helping her stand up.

Answer 7

I have the same problem with my 3 yr. old daughter...She has bad dreams...She goes to bed watching a movie and has to have a lamp on and the bedroom light on..She wakes up so many times during the night and ends up in the bed with me telling me she was scared...I have tried talking to her about this and wondering why she is scared...If she watches movies its all disney movies and nothing scarry...My mom told me I had night mares when I was a child so I dont know if she gets it from me or not...I know all kids have them...I'm back and forth during the night putting her in the bed with me and waiting until she falls asleep and putting her back in her bed..Its all night long...My husband cant stand it b/c he always ends up going to get into her bed...Most of the time she will start crying and I can just hug her and rub her back and tell her its okay Mama here and she will go back to sleep...Sometimes, she dont even open her eyes...One night she started screaming and pointing to her closet yelling...She didnt even have her eyes open.I blame that on the movie Monsters Inc. For you I would just tell her its okay ur there and nothings going to hurt her and try to rub her back so she will feel safe...Good Luck!!!

Answer 8

This is a simple solution that worked for my 3 year old daughter and may work for you. I got her one of those huge teddies and she gets me to put him in bed with her on his side cuddling her. I haven't heard from her in 3 weeks at night and it was getting to the point where i was going insane with no sleep. Give it a go, it might work.

Answer 9

Well, I'm glad you didn't ignore it.
A child with nightmares and no caring will be traumatized for life.
Why don't you (this is going to sound really lame, but maybe you'll feel good about yourself and if it works, be proud) try and help her? Like talk to her before she goes to bed at night?

Answer 10

My parents always just ignored it and I stopped. I don't remember any of them- I only know that I had nightmares like that because they told me.