Almost 3 Year Old Possibly Sleepwalking

My 3 year old has 'night terrors', which requires similar treatment as far as reponses, I've heard. You may want to look that up.

I was a sleep walker til my teens and first piece of advice put a high lock on any doors leading outside. We moved to new house when I was young and they found me outside on our 3rd night there when they heard me yelling. Apparently I did some pretty crazy stuff. Parents would find me closets having full conversations. I even jumped from bed to dresser to floor according to my Grandmother and ended up with some bruises from that one. They said they would just guide me back to bed and usually I would go right back out. I'm afraid my toddler is going to follow suit. He sits up and talks a-lot in his sleep. So we have a gate that blocks access to anywhere but our room and bathroom. Maybe that could work you. Good luck!

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SHe is not to young to sleepwalk. My son is four and sleep walks all the time. At least once a week we find him somewhere else in the morning. Sometimes he comes in to us, sometimes to the couch, somtimes just to the floor somewhere. I thought he was sleepwalking, but wasn't sure until he got up at school during nap and was sleep walking. Went to the door of the classroom and tried to leave when the teacher got him she realized he was not awake and had no idea what he was doing. I have no suggestions, but wanted to let you know she is not alone.

Hi L.,

I was sleepwalking when I was a child, until I outgrew it around 10-11 years old. When my parents took me to get evaluated, the answer they got is, that because of the young age, kids are not able to "process" emotions and that is what prompts the sleepwalking--she is still trying to get through the day. However, she might just be going to the bathroom and get side tracked and just fall asleep on the couch since it is closer for her to lay on. I wonder if something happened the day before that might have impressed or upset her.
Talk to her pedi and see what advice they have for you, but try not to stress too much. Good luck!

All of my sons were sleepwalkers. We put a slide latch on the doors going outside, if they could not open the door easily they would just go on. If you have a basement I would put one there as well. They all outgrew it.

nope not too young my daughter has been sleep walking since she as 2 talk to her doctor

My 10 yr old son started sleepwalking when he was only 18 months old. It can be a very strange thing to deal with. We asked the pediatrician several times how to make it stop and they told me it is hereditary and more likely to happen with boys, but now my daughter (7) does it too. We have noticed that it happens more when they are very tired. My son went so far as to pee in the closet, refrigerator drawer and on his sister's bed. He has only tried to go outside once, but we put security locks on the top of the doors. The best thing I've found to alert me when he is walking is to put a bell on his door knob to his bedroom door. That way when he opens the door I can hear it and I know to go find him. It seems to be getting better with age, but the best advice I can give you is to be patient, don't wake her up, just direct her back to her room and she won't remember it in the morning more than likely. I've lost a lot of sleep over the past 10 years sitting up listening, but I really suggest using the bell on the door. Good luck! I hope it gets easier for you.

BTW...the pediatrician also told me that the majority of sleepwalkers will not ever hurt themselves or put themselves in danger. My husband who is 28 is still a sleepwalker too.

My eleven year old daughter has been sleepwalking for years. She also used to end up in our bed by morning but occasionally I could not find her in our bed or hers and she would be asleep in her room on the floor, in her top bunk or somewhere on the first floor. She also talks a lot in her sleep and the words don't make sense but she gets angry if you don't understand her. Another thing I have noticed is that she is not coordinated when she is doing this and drags one of her feet like she can't feel it or her leg is asleep. Her doctor said she will probably always sleepwalk and sleeptalk but it may get better after adolescene. He said most sleepwalkers are conscious enough to not get into trouble but a few do leave the house, etc. Also, my daughter goes to a month long camp in the summer out of state. She said this past year that a couple of her cabin mates heard someone rummaging around the room in the middle of the night and then left the cabin for a few minutes and came back. She had a top bunk and this camp is in the Blue Ridge mountains and deep woods. This made me really cringe. The only hope I can give you is that my daughter seems to figure out where she needs to end up so there must be some of her awake enough to take care of herself. Good Luck!

Hi L., My son did some sleepwalking about that time of his life. I would hear him get up, assuming he was using the potty, but then I would hear his pee hitting the wall somewhere. He made a wrong turn somewhere and without waking up, thought he had arrived at the toilet, I guess. It's normal for kids to sleepwalk sometimes when they're young like that. They don't remember anything about it the next day, either. My son didn't do it past his 5th birthday. If you want her to get to the bathroom unattended, you might gate off any other places that concern you or could harm her if she's not awake while she's traveling.