Has you child ever woken up abruptly screaming in terror for no apparent reason?  Does it happen often?  If so, then chances are your child is suffering from a condition known as nigh terrors.  My child has suffered with them since the age of at least 9 months.  They are very frightening to your child and to you. When my daughter first began getting these, I was none the wiser.  I just thought she had an upset stomach or wasn’t feeling well.  When she was a toddler, I attributed it to the grumpiness that everyone sometimes feels after a nap.  Then they began in the middle of the night with her screaming to the top of her lungs and looking like she was having an out of body experience.  Well, in a sense, she was.

What does the doctor say about them?

Her pediatrician explained that a lot of toddlers experience these night terrors but the actual cause is uncertain.  They can come on at any time and are usually the result from a disturbance of the child’s sleep patterns.  Growing pains experienced during sleep can be a big trigger.  She explained that while the child appears to be fully awake, this is far from reality.  Actually, the child’s mind is in a deep sleep but his/her body is fully awake and functioning.   It sounds like something out of a scary movie, right?  Well, when it happens it is very scary.

What happens during a terror?

My daughter would be (and still is) very reckless when having a terror.  She will attempt to walk down the stairs as if she is walking straight ahead on a flat surface.  She will stand on the bed very close to the edge without fear.  She will say things that don’t make any sense and will refer to me as being someone else.  She will jump near the edge of the bed or walk into walls.  I’m looking at her and she looks fully awake but I have to remember that she is NOT.  She is very much asleep mentally and this is how she is able to blow caution into the wind.  It is a pretty scary sight if you’ve never witnessed one.  The child screams uncontrollably and very loudly.  My daughter’s eyes are wide open but not “normal”.  Picture someone who is staring into space and daydreaming and this is what it looks like.  Even if she is looking at me, it’s like an empty stare, as if you’re looking into her soul.  This, for me, is the number one way to determine if she just woke up in a bad mood or is actually having a terror.

When does it happen?

As her pediatrician explained, night terrors typically occur when a child’s sleep pattern has been disturbed.  This can be anything from a subtle noise to a loud bang.  It can be triggered by a bad dream.  Sudden movements on the part of another person in the room can trigger it.  They can be brought on by pretty much any movement or noise.  They can also occur more frequently if the child’s regular sleeping patterns get disturbed in some way.  For instance, if the child typically goes to bed at 9:00 p.m. and normally wakes up at 8:00 a.m. but one day you have to get him/her up for an early doctor’s appointment – the normal sleep pattern has been disturbed opening the window for a possible night terror within the next 1-3 days.

I have observed my own child and have discovered all of the above to be true.  She is four and is beginning to get out of the nap phase.  If she does take a nap one day, she’s almost certain to have a night terror sometime during that nap, that night or within a couple of days.  Why?  Because she doesn’t normally take naps anymore and when she does, she probably won’t sleep as long that night.   For my child, this is very predictable but that wasn’t always the case in the past.

Will it result in permanent harm to the child?

My child’s pediatrician assures me that no permanent damage will be suffered from these terrors.  According to her, the condition should resolve once she’s completely past the pre-school age.   Her pediatrician is certain that what she is experiencing is nothing to be concerned about and is fairly common in young children.  She has no other symptoms that would indicate other issues.  If, however, they continue past the age of five then she will order tests to make sure there are no brain or neurological issues that we need to be concerned about.

What to do if your child has a terror

The short answer is – NOTHING.  Because the child’s mind is fast asleep, they don’t recognize you.  In fact, they oftentimes see you as the “enemy” in whatever dream they’re having at the time.  No matter how much they scream, don’t try to stop them.  Don’t even comfort them.  If they were awake they would recognize the loving comfort you are trying to give them but because they’re still asleep, it only prolongs the incident.  The only thing you can do is just watch them, make sure that they don’t hurt themselves unintentionally, and hope that it’s a short terror.  Any interaction that you have with them will only prolong the terror.  I would always try to comfort my daughter, before I knew what I was dealing with, and when I did the terror would inevitably last for up to an hour.  Once I knew what to do and just let her “work it out” and go back to sleep, they never lasted more than 20 minutes.  Sometimes she will just lay down and go back to sleep.  Sometimes she will wake up first.

In closing

My heart goes out to any other parents out there who’s child(ren) suffer from this condition.  It’s frustrating, heartbreaking and just plain scary sometimes.  It just becomes an unfortunate part of life.  The best way to thwart the episodes is to make sure that your child goes to bed and wakes up at the same time every day.  It is very important that your child get uninterrupted sleep both at night and for naps.  Make sure that they are in the most sound proof room in the house with the door closed while sleeping and trying to avoid any activity that will make loud noises.  If your child is napping, make sure that they get at least 1 1/2 to 2 hours of sleep before waking them.  If they awake before 1 1/2 hours, the chances are very high that a terror will be imminent.

Just make sure that you stay with them to ensure their safety but avoid physical contact at all costs.  And just know that the occurrences will become less and less frequent as your child reaches school age.