Mother Seeking Good Night Sleep

I saw a program on this ..wish I could remember all they said about it . I do know that sometimes a full bladder and caffine can contribute to night terrors. Try cutting off liquids 3 hours before bed and eliminating all caffine from her diet. Also try putting her to sleep earlier. The more tired a child is , the more likely to have night terrors. I think the show also had 5 minutes of talking about things that bothered the child that day etc.. so they can "get it off their chest" before trying to go to sleep.

Night terrors are a legit sleep disorder so you should notify your pediatrician about it. They go away around 5-6 when kids are better at expressing themselves verbally.

Hope it helps !

J.

Not sure it will help, or fit with your style of parenting, but my 3 year old is allowed to come to our room at anytime during the night... but- he must sleep on the floor! For us this worked well. i am too lazy (yea- I know) to take him back to his room at 2am, but I have no problem throwing a blanket over him so he can sleep. It helps him feel safe, and we get to sleep mostly uninterupted.

You may also want to put a night light in the room for her and/or a bed side lamp she could turn on.

I do want to ask though- has ANYTHING changed in the past few months? (New school or teacher, differnt Sunday school class, new baby in the house, mom or dad working more/less... anything!) At 3 "small changes" are HUGE life uproars! I have a friend whose son started having night terrors when his dad returned from deployment. He "knew" his dad, but was not use to him being in the house, so he was having adjustment issues with Dad being home. (I think Matt was 4 1/2 at the time, but none-the-less, you get the point.) Night terrors don't have to be stemed from a bad experience. They are often a way of processing adjustment for littles.

Sounds like night terrors to me! When my children experienced this, we would always let them crawl into bed with us. It seemed to soothe them, plus I still got my rest! I would gently talked to your child and let her know that she is only having a dream and it isn't real. Reassure her.

I agree with the beforehand post......double check to make sure nothing in her routine day has changed that might be bringing on her night terrors.

Even if she will not take a nap, have her do a little quiet time in her room, on her bed, with a book during the day (you might consider laying down with her for a half hour or more). You never know......maybe you both will get to dose off!

I hope the both of you will get to count sheep really soon!

i would say its night terrors. my husband got them so bad he would run through the house to try to get away from what he was dreaming about. try to eliminate any caffine or sugar before bed. is there any tv she may see that could influence her imagination? does she sleep with a toy? what i would do for when she wakes up is go in there calm her down and maybe get her a small drink and read a short story. then tuck her back in bed and tell her that she needs to go back to sleep and she is a big girl and will be ok. if she does take a nap how long does she sleep? i dont let my daughter sleep past 5 because her bed time is 7. well i hope this is helpful and i hope that this problem gets solved for you

DIET IS your forst call here.
no caffine ever - and as little sugar as possible...
no processed sugar and absolutely no colorings / chemicals

See how that goes for a week

Read stories together to talk about meanies or nightmares. Give her a special toy that will keep the meanies away at night and LET HER KNOW SHE CAN'T RELY ON YOU ALWAYS LAYING WiTH HER EVERY NIGHT!
Good Luck