Looking at our children having so much fun, most people see “happy, go lucky” kids. But there are times when not all is perfect, especially at night.
For parents, the worst thing is not being able to console your child or to fix whatever is wrong. Along comes something that you are unfamiliar with and according to articles and experts, you just have to sit back and watch because they will eventually grow out of it. Several months ago, night terrors entered our world and my husband, Joe, and I are faced with that helpless feeling at least two to three times a week.
For the past several months, our son (five years old) has been waking up crying, sweating and at times walking around like a zombie after being asleep only an hour. It usually happened when he was extremely tired and overly exhausted. Joe and I would be sitting on the couch in the living room and hear our son start crying. At first, we tried to ask him what was wrong. Was he scared. Was it a bad dream.
I would stay with him and sing for him until he stopped crying and went back to sleep. Sometimes this could last for up to five minutes. We were baffled.
THEN, our daughter (two and a half years old) started doing the same thing! Two nights in a row she woke up crying and sweating, not able to go back to sleep. I took her in my arms and rocked her in the chair, singing to her until she went back to sleep.
I remember a friend mentioning night terrors but hadn’t had a chance to look it up on the Internet. When sharing with another mother the frustration of going through this regularly, she also mentioned night terrors so I decided to do a little research.
Information on the Internet is abundant and sometimes overwhelming. But I did get answers. Several experts say this can be hereditary i.e. the parents experienced night terrors, talked or walked in their sleep or other sleep issues. They also said that if one sibling has night terrors, other siblings were more likely to have them too. Causes (they think) can be stress, exhaustion, taking new medications or sleeping away from home.
(AS A NOTE, THIS BLOG POST WAS INTERRUPTED BY MY DAUGHTER’S NIGHT TERRORS. JUST SPENT TIME ROCKING HER BACK TO SLEEP) Now where was I? Oh yes.
The experts list “coping” techniques because there is no “cure” for night terrors. Some of the suggestions include more rest, getting your kids on a schedule and reducing stress.
Bottom line from almost all experts is that your kids will grow out of this.
Not that I want my kids to grow up too fast, but I am SO READY for this stage to be over and done.
HELPFUL LINKS:
Rising Above It All 