Daughter Having Night Terrors, Need Advice.

This has happened to us a few times, and I figured out for us that turning on a favorite movie worked. I would carry my daughter to the living room (after I had gone in and turned on Barney or whatever it was at the time) and wait for her to come around. She almost always did, and then she would usually want a sippy cup of milk, finish the video, and she would go back to bed. I knew that if I tried to wake her, it would not go well, but for some reason, coming around to a movie did the trick. I know it is hard, but be assured that as long as she is safe in her surroundings, you can go to sleep when the episode is over. There is some speculation that it can be casued by changes in her routine, or even exposure to a movie or scene on TV that scared her. Once my daughter saw a preview for CSI and had a night mare about it, and I figured out another time after she had been having terrors for about a week, that she had seen a Disney movie and something scared her on that (It was the organ on Beauty and the Beast Christmas....go figure!) I wish you the best of luck dealing with this, I am sure that you are TIRED!! ~A.~

My daughter had the same problem originally i thought she might have growing pains but when i spoke to her pediatritian she said that growin pains would be very uncommon for a two year old and then said that it was probably night terrors two is usually the age they can begin having them. i couldnt believe it and i couldnt imagine what she had experienced in her life to even have a nightmare about. the doctor said that no one really knows some think that maybe they have in some way just twisted something minor and their little minds go into overdrive when they sleep. she said the only thing i could really do is comfort her make her feel safe and eventually they would pass and if they didnt she said i could try soothing cd's or kid songs as she goes to sleep so that is what her brain is comprehinding the minute it slows down. her eventually stopped and she only has them every once in a while bc i usually try to read her a story before she goes to bed and she is starting to learn a bed time prayer.it is a scary thing and it makes you feel helpless bc there is nothing you can do about it but i promise it will pass. the best thing i can tell you is try to put her to bed with calming happy memories so that is the last thing she thinks of before she closes her eyes. good luck let me know how things turn out

It's a hereditary condition. You or your husband may have had some occurances of sleepwalking in the family. Make sure she goes to bed on time and that if she has had a really hard or long day to give her a nap. Also if she has any ear issues this can cause her to wake up and have these night terrors because she does not go into full REM sleep. My daughter had them for a couple of years and the best thing we could do was to keep her safe. I would put her on the floor because she would flail around so much I was worried that she would hurt herself. She also thought I was a monster or something so me touching her would send her into even worse outbursts. Most of this was related to her constant ear infections. She had tubes several times until they finally worked and amazingly, the night terrors were gone.

I used to have nightmares and night terrors every night from the time I was a little girl until I was around 17 years old. My parents aren't Christians and never prayed for me but when I became a Christian in my late teenage years, I found that there were many scriptures against fear. I learned them and would literally recite them before I went to sleep. They almost immediately went away and I've never had them again, never been scared of the dark since and do not worry or fear in the night like I used to. One scripture that especially helped me is Psalm 91:5..."You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday." Try praying for her before she goes to sleep. Pray for peace. Pray against fear. It says in the bible that Perfect Love casts out fear...God is Perfect Love. Good luck. I will pray for her too.

"I sought the Lord and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears." Psalm 34:4

The stuff I read when my good friend's son had these said to let the child be and do not wake them up or intervene unless they are hurting themselves or others. They say the kids do not remember it at all. In my friend's case, they think it was because she started working more hours. So when both parents were able to spend more time with the kids and have them get enough sleep, they went away. But that could just be a coincedence as well. Good luck. It is not easy to see you baby go through these.

C. - I feel you. My daughter had it when she was only 2 years old. It lasted for almost 6 months or so and there's not much you can do. When my daughter first had it, I didn't know what to do either.. After a couple of weeks, all I can do is let her cry, and her crying would go 3 hours straight every night. You are in my prayers woman..

My daughter who is 3, has night terrors usually when we go out of town and are at a strange place or if she has had an exhausting day with no nap. I usually rub her back and let her know I am here and she is safe. Other than that we have to let her cry it out. It is very hard and I feel your pain.

My 4 year old daughter does that occassionally. We usually cannot wake her up and if we try to interfere, she gets more upset. I've had the most success just picking her up and hugging her, rubbing her back, etc. to soothe her back to sleep. She is very sensitive, so I can usually link these nights to a bad day (a friend hurt her feelings, etc.)

My parents said that my brother did that when he was a baby (very often and would walk around - scared them a lot) and the only way they got him out of it was putting him in front of the TV or turning on music. I guess that got his mind to something else. He would wake up and go back to bad. We haven't gotten to the point where we've tried that yet, but I see some one else suggested that as well.

I know it's scary and upsetting, but keep looking for triggers to help you find scenarios to avoid. Maybe the day after these happen, you can write a journal about her activities the day before. There might be a common thread (TV show she watched, a friend she played with, a meltdown before bedtime, less sleep than normal day before, etc.)

Good luck!
B.