how to stop my 16 month old son screaming for no reason at night?

Question

he wakes up during the night and starts to scream its not a cry its just a scream and he does it for hours the helth visitor says just ignore him but there is no way you can because the more you ignore him the louder and longer he screams for any suggestions

Answer 1

stop him from watching chucky before he goes to bed?
just kidding

Answer 2

I would say, before he goes to bed make sure he has brought up all his wind, because i found as my son got older and was bringing his wind up himself at night he would wake up screaming i would go into him and all he wanted was a good burp! So make sure he has brought his wind up, then if this is not the issue when he cries leave him for a little while say 5minutes then go in give him a hug and put him back down, repeat this if he continues to cry, every 5 mins and he should drift back off to sleep, its called control crying, where the child may have had a bad dream or just wants you for a hug, if he has never really slept through the night which I dont know this will help him do that too!
I hope he stops soon must be heartbreaking to hear him, but leaving him completly bit daft, where as going in every 5 mins lets him know you are there but also teaches him that your not gonna come running the second he cries if that makes sense!! Good Luck.

Answer 3

Does he have a night light? my 3yr old daughter has to have a light on she gets scared in a dark room, also ignoring them is the last resort after trying everything else. I have three children aged 6,3 and 1 all are very different my daughter as a baby had to have music playing softly as a security my eldest son slept beside me till he was 18mths when he was 2 he went into a big bed and now can't stand to share his bed with anyone and the youngest is in his cot, and for a long time he'd wake and scream he did this because me or my husband would put him to sleep, he'd wake and see that we weren't there and was frighten. so you could imagine when you ignore him how alone and afraid he'd feel go into him and sooth him tell him your there and when he's calm walk away if he does it again go to him keep doing this but make it longer each time before returning. It takes time and patients but they grow so fast so try not to worry it's normal and you can rest assure they grow out of it.

Answer 4

My son also went through a spell like that. I think my son was having night terrors..which is a "normal" part of the brains development from what I have read.

Its hard to believe that kind of screaming for no apparent reason is "normal" or part of development.

The only thing you can do is to comfort him, make sure he is taken care of..diaper, food, warmth, etc. Do not ignore him..thats ridiculous to whoever told you to do that.

It used to take my son about a half hour to calm down after one of those episodes and another half hour to get him back to sleep. He did it several times a week...and the rest of the week, he would still wake up in the middle of the night.

I was exhausted and frustrated. My doctor said it will pass...and it did.

I did do a few things differently. I put a spill proof sippy cup in his crib with him, put on a night light and kept his bedtime "ritual" the same every night. When he went to bed we did things in certain order and made a big deal about how his room was safe and was his room. Everyone was there to keep him safe and sound. It helped and still does to this day.

He will on occasion have a rough night...but its once a month, not 3-4 times a week.

I also bought better absorbant diapers for night time...cost more, but it kept him from feeling cold and wet or leaking.
We also have a snack just before bed...no hungry tummies waking him up.

Good luck..and remember it wont last forever...just til you are about to have a break down and then it will be something else that keeps you awake at night.

Answer 5

have somebody check his ears. i thought my son was just a terrible sleeper just looking to be picked up. he seemed totally fine in all ways except that he'd wake up screaming at night. turned out he had a flaming ear infection....

if his ears are fine, check if it's night terrors. even if his eyes are open, is he actually asleep while he's doing it? does he recognize you; can you comfort him, etc.? if he's actually asleep and nothing comforts him it might be night terrors. try to get him to bed a little earlier or lengthen his nap, since more sleep sometimes helps. or, if it generally happens at the same time every night, wake him up a little bit before he does it and then let him go back to sleep. that can interrupt the sleep cycle and help with night terrors.

if he's actually awake, you have two choices. one is to go pick him up or bring him in your bed or whatever so he stops screaming (the downside being that he learns that screaming works and it could be a long while before you both get a good sleep). the other is to let him cry it out (the downside being that it's heartbreaking). some people try an intermediate step of being in the room where he can see you but not picking him up. there's tons of books on sleep problems; check one out of your library. good luck.

Answer 6

A child doesn't scream for nothing and a child that young could not be having nightmares. There is probably a physical reason, such as stomach ache. Other than that it might be practical to let him sleep with you. Down through the long history of human beings that was the practise and may be more natural than the baby sleeping alone. You could try it and then perhaps you would both get some restful sleep.

Answer 7

If you look in the book - the one for 1-5 year olds that the health visitor supplies you, they may be called night terrors - i suggest you change health visitors (we changed ours for a very good, helpful one) or go to your son's GP and work together to get to the bottom of it, don't ignore it.
Yes it may pass but it's causing problems in this moment in time.

Answer 8

Well he's not screaming for 'no' reason - there is some reason for it even if it's just for fun.

What is this scream like - does it seems like shouting for fun, to hear his own voice or entertain himself, to attract your attention, or is he screaming in fear, or terror, or does it seem more like pain ?

Could be a whole manner of different things ...

Consider
Colic - what is he having to eat or drink at bedtime - if he is going to sleep with a bottle or drink and is lying down in your arms or in his bed to drink it, it could be giving him gas in his tummy causing colic i.e. where he should burp, he's falling asleep and because he's then still, the wind cannot escape causing him to have severe pains in his tummy, shoulder, side etc. Does picking him up and cuddling him stop the screaming?

Could be night terrors - like nightmares beginning - in which case he'd appear scared, and doing things like putting on a landing light, making sure there aren't scary shadows in his room from toys, or teddies with boogly eyes etc. might help.

If he's calling you for attention, maybe a noise activated music or light machine would help, if it came on when he made a noise.

See, there are loads of different possibilities, but I think the one that I disagree with most is the one your health visitor has said ... I would never ever ignore a toddler/baby who was 'screaming'

Answer 9

If is this something totally new that he hasn't been doing I would keep going in and reassuring him. I know it is hard but something is probably wrong for him to be doing so. However, IF he has always been one to wake up at night and it isn't something that is new I would still go in and check on him to make sure everything is ok. Go in, don't talk with him, don't look at him but just gently lay him back down. You may have to do this a thousand times before he gets the picture. He needs to know its bedtime, a time to sleep not a time for play. I had to do this with my daughter a couple of times and now if she wakes up at night I can hear her playing with her stuffed animals in her crib and singing to herself. The only time she cries is if something is truly wrong with her. Good luck!

Answer 10

Is there a night light in his bedroom? If not you might try that he maybe scared of the dark. My son is 16 months old as well and he has his momments when he will do that to but it is usually when he is sick with an ear infection or is teething.

Answer 11

My daughter use to if she woke up alone.I slept with her till she was three.She did not want to be alone at night since she was born and still today she is fifteen and needs a small amount of light and a heavy blanket to feel that comfort of closeness.She says now without feeling that weight it is hard for her to sleep.Try putting something that smells like you in with him and a little light and a heavey blanky for the weight.