my 2 year old son keeps waking up screaming ??

Question

he wakes up screaming his head off and does not want me or daddy or anything else for that matter. im at my wits end can any one help me and my hubby with this? i think it may be night terrors and his doc says there is nothing wrong with him

my son will not let us any where near him
ive tried holding him and singing and rocking NOTHING is working.

Answer 1

Unfortunately, this is the age of nightmares. everyone I know has had the same experience with their 18mos-3yo child at some point. The problem is that the child does not understand that it was a dream or what dreams are and probably is not fully awake when he is crying and you go to him. The best thing I have found to do is to really wake my son up and make sure he knows I am talking to him and all that. Turn the lights on and tell him to wake up and tell him it's all done and he's ok. If it helps, leave the light on for him to sleep. I've even gotten my son up and let him watch a Veggie Tales video (his favorite) for 15 min in order to get his mind off of it. Otherwise, there's not much to do except ride it out. My older son outgrew it between 2 1/2 and 3 years old. Best of luck!!

Answer 2

It does sound like night terrors and it is very scary for the parent. He is awfully young for meds but I know imipramine is used for older children with night terrors. All you can do is watch and experiment with what works to calm him down. My child did this. I learned quickly that I could not touch him and that talking was useless. I started sitting in the rocking chair and watch him while slowly rocking. After a minute or so I would start to hum softly. I found that the intensity quickly went away. Then I would get up and say I was going to get some milk. Most of the time he would follow me. He might still be crying but he was not hysterical and quickly quit. I know that some of his terrors were brought on by stress but many of them I never did no. Good luck.

Answer 3

The BBC reports that 3% of children experience night terrors, most of whom are boys. Studies confirm that night terrors tend to run in families, as do other sleep disorders. These children that are afflicted with night terrors many times act like they are awake, but they are asleep. Night terrors are not nightmares. Nightmares occur during an early stage of sleep and night terrors occur in later stages of the sleep cycle. If your child has been exhibiting strange behavior and extreme fear upon awakening (they only appear awake), they are probably having a night terror.


Sleep disorders are a very common occurence in toddlers and young children, so parents should not be alarmed. Night terrors are a common in young children ages 3-5, especially boys. In rare cases, girls and adults can even experience night terrors, but the people usually effected have a strong biological predisposition for night terrors or other sleep disorders. Knowing the causes and signs will arm parents with the knowledge that they need in order to help their children have a restful night's sleep. Talking to the family physician or pediatrician will also shed some light on the problem, and offer some practical solutions.

Answer 4

My son did the same thing at the same age. He would wake up screaming as loud as he could and didn't want me to touch him. I would ask what was wrong and he wouldn't say anything he would just continue to cry and scream. The only thing I could do was sit there until he fell asleep again. I would talk to him about it the next morning and he would tell me he had dreams about dinosaurs, sharks or monsters. I hate that they learn about these things so early in life. Those words never cam out of his mouth until he was with older kids at daycare.
All you can do is be there for him and make sure there is nothing wrong. You can ask him questions and if he says he's having bad dreams assure him there is nothing to worry about. Good luck!!

Answer 5

My daughter use to wake up with night terrors. She would shake uncontrollably. Nothing we did would console her. We would just sit with her until she fell asleep again. Her doctor said that stress, being overly tired, or even feeling sick could bring it on. He also said to keep her room cool when she slept. She has outgrown the night terrors. One good thing though, she never remembered any of it the next morning! She thought we we're pulling her leg when we would tell her about it the next day. Now, there are the Rolandic seizures that are similar to night terrors. More common with boys than girls. A child will usually outgrow them also.

Answer 6

My daughter does this too... The first few times it really scared the crap outta me, I didn't know what was wrong and I was home alone with her... I remember my heart pounding and being so worried. She would thrash around in the bed, screaming bloody murder and didn't want me to get near her... It was a really scary experience....

I thought at first it was night terrors..... But what they ended up being was........ Growing pains. Does your son EVER complain of anything hurting when he wakes screaming? My daughter has incredible pains in her legs at night (and only at night, that's how we know it's growing pains). At first, when she was younger, she wasn't able to clearly explain to us what was going on but after a while we realized she was kicking around and jumping up and down on her knees because they hurt... And now when it happens she can tell us.... She screams out, "My legs hurt!!!!!!!" ...it is heartbreaking but all I can do is run for the Tylenol and start trying to rub them (which she usually refuses my attempts at)....

So, just my suggestion..... try talking to him about it and ask him if anything hurts - Maybe even ask him about it during the day when he's calm. Try asking him if his legs hurt at night, etc.... It can be hard for a 2 year old to communicate what is going on... And it might be night terrors in your situation... but growing pains are real and they do hurt!!! So try and rule that out if you can!!!

Best of luck to you!

Answer 7

Set the stage for him to enjoy a freer, more fulfilling life.

• Increase your child’s understanding of how these unwelcome fears can keep him from enjoying life. Common foes include fear of the dark and separation anxiety.

• Give him strategies for defeating them. Specifically:

Communicate and pray with him about his phobias.
Evaluate the atmosphere in your household. Determine whether you are contributing to your children’s anxieties by living at a hectic pace or allowing a high level of stress at home.
Regardless of the root of our children’s fears, it is crucial that we validate their concerns. When a child knows he has his parents on his team — and knows he is taken seriously — he has more confidence to combat his fears.

Ways to Communicate

All of us have fears, many of which are centered on new experiences. As adults, we’ve developed coping mechanisms to aid us in dealing with fears and concerns. For our children, the world is full of new experiences. How can we help them over these hurdles?

Pray — Be sure to ask for God’s help and intervention in your child’s heart. Faith is the source of profound courage and peace.

Be There — Sometimes it’s important to say very little and just be present. Hugs are worth a thousand words.

Listen — Have you truly “heard” what your child is trying to communicate? Doing so may save him a great deal of tears and frustration. Children sometimes have a hard time identifying their fears or nervousness, much less verbalizing them.

Be Honest — Our children need to know that we have fears, too. This will help them feel less isolated and embarrassed. We then can share with them some of the ways we’ve learned to cope with our anxieties.

Be Observant — Are there contributing factors that may be adding to the fear your child is feeling? Is he hungry, tired or overscheduled? Often a simple snack or nap works wonders.

Answer 8

you have all my sympathy my 6yr old still has night terrors and lashes out at unseen things give me a couple of fat lips during episodes luckely now becoming less frequant but what i do is to hold him to me really close on my lap with my arms round his and his body so he cant lash out and rock him while just chatting garbage in my normal tone ie talking about weather,houswork,shopping etc till i feel him relaxe give him a kiss and lay him back down like you my doctor could find nothing wrong yr not on your own hope this helps xx

Answer 9

my toddler did the same thing for about a week, she is normally a good sleeper so i am going to assume it was night terrors too, i would just hold her and rock her even though she was still screaming pushing me away... maybe he is still sleeping when you are trying to comfort him thats why he resists. you know that state where your awake, but still asleep. anyway thats what i did, hope it helps good luck♥

Answer 10

i have a 2 year old and she did that for about a week but she has a duck that's her security so i would make sure it was in bed. at first i would talk to her until she realized i was there then she would be OK (since she was still half asleep). I'm sure it will pass soon.