8yr having bad nightmares

Sarahdol75

melwright wrote: »

However, he was very compliant with instructions, so we took him to the bathroom to have a wee as someone recommended a slight cooling of temperature may be enough to take him out of it. Our bathroom floor is lino and just those few degrees seemed to help. Also, turning his pillow over so he had the 'cold' side, both of these things seemed to settle him down and back off to sleep.
May not work for everyone, but worth a try.

Mx

We have also been trying this the last couple of nights aswell, when he wakes up he is so hot and sweaty, but he sleeps with nothing on anyway, always has, doesn't like pj's, so we keep his covers off him until we go to bed.

teffers

The only time I experienced this with my son (he's now 21 and gives me nightmares and sleepless nights) is when he started playing video games, the violent type, Resident Evil etc.

I started to control his game playing after.

melwright

Sarahdol75 wrote: »

We have also been trying this the last couple of nights aswell, when he wakes up he is so hot and sweaty, but he sleeps with nothing on anyway, always has, doesn't like pj's, so we keep his covers off him until we go to bed.

Yep, our DS is like that too, wears nothing and is always hot & sweaty but still wraps himself up like a sausage roll if he gets hold of the covers!
But the cold pillow and bathroom trip seemed to make a difference.

Jackie47

Long time ago now but my daughter had a spate of these at about 8 or 9 years old!

I remember going in one night and she was sat on the edge of her bed, looking at the bedroom door and growling really loud :eek:

At 2 o'clock in the morning and a single mum who had issues with the dark, it really scared me. Talk about the hairs on the back of your neck standing on end!!!

She never remembered them the next morning either.

suzybaby2001

I'm 28 and still wake up screaming sometimes! I'm going through a period of stress at the moment, redundancy, moving house because of redundancy, trying to find a job and I think that's what set it off again. I woke up screaming last week with my other half grabbing me round the wrists as I was lashing out in addition to screaming. I think it's quite scary for people especially if they are asleep themselves!

rjc73

Hi,
just wanted to add that my eldest had night terrors just as you describe from the ages of 3 until she was about 6, she just grew out of them. However, it was like clockwork. The first (and often the worst) terror whoud start exactly 2 hours after she had fallen asleep. I bought a fab book called how to solve your chils sleep problems and apparently this 2 hour period is a transitional phase of sleeping but the terror occurs when the sleep pattern in the brain gets a bit mixed up. This made such sense to me as I used to be an anxious wreak until the first one of the night was over!
Hope this helps a little with the 2 hour thing.
x

*debbie*

You are sooo not alone! My DS also had them, mostly around 6-8 years old, and I work with children and the amount of parents who come in frazzled and panicky because their child has just had their first night terror is amazing. They are horrible, but as has been said, are not remembered by the child, just the adults who are really the sufferers!

I was told once that they are a sign that you have an intelligent child. Personally I think that was just to make me feel good, but it helped at the time!!

sjc3

My daughter gets night terrors too, she is 8. It was happening really regularly with her too for a while. We were worried that there may be some reason causing them like bullying or anxiety. Like you we had a chat with her and checked with her teacher and were reassured all was okay. She only has them occassionally now.

My nieces and nephews have them also. I think it is quite a normal childhood phase they all seem to go through. Its not a nice thing to see a child going through but she never remembers anything about it.

Hubby and I have come to the conclusion that she is learning so much at school all day and gradually making sense of the world. Maybe it is a childs way of releasing any mixed up feelings of things they dont really understand.

elfen

I think I had them for about 3-4 years when I was younger, and always about rubbish (or so I was told) and my dad was the only one who could calm me down. I then had them when I was under great stress or was ill. Now I just have nightmares....

sjc3

As someone else very wisely said I think they are far more fightening for the adults who witness them than the child having them.

Out of any interest do any of you ever get that horrid, dropping off a cliff feeling when you are asleep and suddenly wake up? This has been plaguing me for years.