My Son Is Having Nightmares

Hi,
My son also has had these type of night terrors as early as age 3. Now age 6,I have found that when he is overtired, not getting to bed before 8pm, he wakes up more frequently in these night terrors. So I really try to stay on a consistent sleep schedule which helps!
Hope this helps, L.

I have no help, but need some too. My 4 year old wakes up about once a month, crying, screaming, and you can tell that she is not awake. We turn the lights on and talk to her, hold her while she screams, she finally will let you lay her down after about 10 minutes then she goes to sleep. She does not remember in the morning. Let me know if you get any good insight. Thanks, Chrisitna

My son was having bad dreams acouple of years ago so I went the store and bought air freshner that had a picture of clouds on it and before he went to bed i told him it was his good dream spray and i would spray it in the room and it worked for him and last year he watched a movie that scared him so I went to the store and bought air freshener and used that as monster spray for his closet and under his bed. He sleeps wonderful with having the simple comfort of a spray.

My son is the same age and going through the same thing. What I read is that a major reason is they are over-tired. We found that if he has a good afternoon nap or goes to bed earlier, this helps. It is scary, but it seems to just be a phase. Good luck.

Hi Zohra, you are right to limit his amount of TV and to choose his dvds...another cause can be anger...does he see you and your husband arguing, even just a little bit? an older child can learn to deal with conflict in a healthy way, but little guys don't need to see it yet....i would also try very hard to smile every time you look at him, so that he does not see "mommy's angry face" when he does something wrong. that is so hard to do! just always remind yourself how very much you love him and what a precious gift he is. please don't feel guilty if this has not been your pattern of relating yet...just start now and see if it helps! you will feel a whole lot better too. i may be way off base here and if so, just disregard this email! blessings to you...

This is so normal, especially at this age. It has nothing to do with TV. Go get him something like a dream catcher, a special stuffed animal, or I put up those glow in the dark stars to help keep bad dreams away. My son after I put those up had no problems. All you can do is when he does have bad dreams, rub his back, whisper it is okay and let him get himself back to sleep.,

My son turned 3 in August and for the past three months we have had the same situation. I believe he is having nightmares as well but not quite sure where he is getting them from as he doesn't watch or see scary things. Please let me know if you find out anything!
L.

Hi Zohra,

Say this little prayer at bedtime with him..."Dear God, please watch over my son, let him have a restful sleep, give your angels charge over him to give him your peace...In Jesus name. Amen
It will work. My son has been sleeping soundly for years.

Have a Blessed Christmas.
C.

My 3yo has them occassionally. They are usually about the train coming to get him (we live near a train track and occassionally he hears the whistle) or some other silly thing. He doesn't get to watch scary things but their imaginations work overtime. He doesn't usually remember them either. Just go in and reassure him that everything is okay and you are nearby, rub his back or hair (whatever comforts him), tuck him back in and leave. As long as he knows you are there to keep him safe he'll be fine.

If he doesn't remember them the next day, chances are they're night terrors, not nightmares.
My son had night terrors when he was little. They seemed to occur at times when he was in his deepest sleep (about two to three hours after he went to bed) and now he's 12 and just occasionally talks in his sleep but will also sometimes sleepwalk (tried to take a shower twice now). The terror part of it, he outgrew but what did help was keeping him on a nice sleep schedule that was consistent. The worst were at times of high stress in our own lives too so if you're going through something difficult yourself, try to destress yourselves too because even if he doesn't know what it is, he can pick up on the mood. But even times where all was normal, he'd still have them. He didn't remember the next day and it didn't affect him or his quality of sleep. As he got older, they became less and less frequent. When he had them, I'd just make sure he was safe (not up running around) and I could usually just tell him, it's okay go back to bed and a lot of times, he would.
It's been a long time since I've had to think of them as night terrors but I do remember our pediatrician gave us some great information about them at the time and that helped too so give your ped a call. :) Good luck.

(after reading other people's responses, I forgot, we did get him a dream catcher and hung it over his bed. He wouldn't sleep in a bed that didn't have one hanging over it so eventually we had one in every room... it's been a long time so I forgot!!)

How old is the little brother? If the brother is fairly young he might just be toying with you guys to get attention.I would start using tough love, he very well could be playing you. Do not go into his room and let him cry it out. If he gets up and comes to your room just gently take him back and reassure him that all is well. Everytime you go in to his room you have reinforced his behavior.

Hi,

I have the same problem with my 4 year old, and the doctor asked me if he was still taking naps during the day, he wasn't. So the Dr. said he was probably overtired, I start putting him down for a nap again and he was fine, the first night after a good 2 hour nap during the day and he didn't woke up at all.

I don''t know if that's the case with your little one. But you can try.

We went through this at the same age. It's the time they don't want to take a nap anymore and are overtired. It always happened when he had no nap or had a big evening with other kids (over stimulated.) The funny thing is that they don't remember much in the morning but you do!

I would ask your doctor about it. Being overtired can definitely cause nightmares. Sometimes even napping or keeping an irregular sleeping schedule can do it. Another thing is eating close to bedtime. I have a problem with nightmares myself--the same kind children have (it is very unusual for an adult). Stress can also be a big factor. It is common for kids, and that's why the doctor can be helpful with things to try. Whatever happens, the affection you and your husband give him after the nightmares will be a great comfort, I'm sure.