5Yr old...scared a lot...walking in sleep...sleep Issues

I have a six year old boy that I adopted at 3. He has really struggled with sleep as well. He is afraid of everything and has flashbacks of being in a scary foster home. This is what I do: First I rub peppermint lotion on his feet. It's warm and it tingles a bit and it has a distinct odor. It makes him feel my pressence even when I've left the room and it relaxes him a lot. I also spritz lavendar spray on his pillow. It's supposed to help bring on calming sleep. We use it cause "monsters don't like pretty smelling stuff so it will keep them away". It's worked. He's sleeping so good and therefore, so are we!

Good luck,

L.

He would be safer he saw a neurologist and had sleep studies done. with all of this going on, why don't you let him sleep in your room, or sleep in his room until he falls asleep? He is experiencing control issues, is there a substance abuser in the house? Anyone that drinks?

A.; yes sometimes kids can be scared and do weird stuff, but is ok most of it is part of growing up, if he is sleep walking make sure you lock the doors, and i had a neice that would do that, and i scared me she would go outside, so i would put a chair or something in front of the door, so i would hear the noise if she happened to sleep walk and want to go outside, for those kids who get scared alot you may have to teach them the power of prayer, its always a good idea to teach them to pray anyway, no matter your situaion, after all we teach them there is a santa clause, and to beleive in him, so why not teach him there is a more powerful creature than any of all this, and way more powerful than any scary dream, we had to say a prayer to our child before they went to bed and ask god for protection , and it does help, kids can be very affected by what is on the tv, or what is in movies, even kids movies can scare them, even funniest home videos can scare a child, they show monkeys taking a sandwhich or something that scares the person in the show, can scare a child, also put a small matress in your room under your bed so when he comes in there, he can sleep near you. no i never had my kids in a sleep study, so i dont knwo anything about that, but have a good day, D. s

My daughter did sleep walking for years. Pretty creepy. BUT, I did have a sleep study done and found that she had sleep apnea due to enlarged tonsils. The sleep study recorded that she stopped breathing more than 6 times in an hour. Scary! Took her to ENT and the tonsils were removed immediately! She has since had NO sleep walking episodes!! Amazing it was just her tonsils. ( she is 8 yrs old). Good luck, I would get that sleep study!

I would pray with him and over him every night and read Psalms 91 to him each night (or some uplifting Bible verse). I would also call a Pastor in to anoint your home. I would suggest Pastor Richard Meyers of Rochester Hills Family Worship Center. He helped my with my daughter who had similar issues.

To me, it sounds like he has an underlying issue and that is the reason for the sleepwalking and restless nights.

Have you thought about talking to a child therapist?

Something else...Have you monitored what he eats? Does it seem to be worse when he eats certain things?

Also, if you want to go the natural route, a good calcium/magnesium may help with the sleeping. Magnesium relaxes the nerves and muscles. Many people are deficient in this mineral.

Just wondering if have you ever co-slept with him? I would suggest trying that for a few weeks just to see if you can rule out any medical issues first. Sleep anxiety and nightmares are very rough on the whole family and very difficult on the young child. While every child is so different and I know many parents oppose co-sleeping, BUT there are studies and research out there that support the emotional need for co-sleeping. There is such a rise in sleeping disorders and children with sleep anxiety issues with some authors making the case that forcing them to sleep alone or always crying it out to bed can have such affects. Our biological design is to co-sleep as it fosters healthy attachment and comforting nights for the child---not saying this is easy when parents are not comfortable with this and ours society tells us its suppose to work differently . Its just that even a 6 year old is still a young child and sleeping alone IS scary. Most adults and even our pets prefer to sleep with a partner--isolating our young children is something unique to our western culture and after extensive reading on this topic, (my first child forced me to rethink my position on co-sleeping)-- I have become an advocate of sleep sharing for the many, many benefits it offers to the child. Of course, I wouldn't rule out daytime anxiety or simply your childs unique personality that make sleep an anxiety ridden time--every child is unique with different sensitivities --bringing us our own challenges for us to learn something as parents... You know your child the best, so I would trust your own intuitions. I just wanted to encourage you to try sleeping next to him for a set time just to see if that makes a difference. Best of luck.

My son had to have a sleep study. Mainly sleep studies are done to monitor breathing and that sort of thing. They do check brain wave activity and stuff like that, but usually are recommended by a pulmonologist to check for sleep apnea. Night terrors are usually a hereditary thing or so I'm told, unless they are medication induced. My son had night terrors from a medication, Concerta, but they went away when the meds were stopped. My daughter who is now 7 is going through a period of extreme fearfulness of the night and also struggles with sleep walking and being afraid to go into room by herself. We're not sure what caused them, but suspect an overactive imagination and that sort of thing. In my area we hear alot of stories about escaped inmates and the like (my husband is a corrections officer) and her fear gets worse every time there is another escape whether the person is caught or not. Because of her anxiety, we are considering counseling to work through the fear. You may want to look into that for your son. Counseling can sometimes unveil things you never knew they were thinking....and children have some very weird thoughts....