Need Some Advice on 3 Year Old Waking at Night

Hi, C.!

I almost missed this question because it's so similar to a question another mom asked about a recent change in her 3-year-old's sleep pattern. Wild!

I would guess that if you ask your son in the morning if he remembered the incident, he'd tell you, "No." My son *still* at age 13 has what appears to be wakeful times in the middle of the night. He'll get up and go to the bathroom, he might even talk to me, but he's sound asleep. I guess he's a somnambulator (sleep walker). He'll also seem to wake up in the middle of the night and be in a conversation about something with someone. Or, he'll pick up his pillow and throw it! He's sound asleep, and always responds to the suggestion of lying back down.

I used to be a somnambulator, too, so I'm told. I don't do it anymore. I believe it's a deep-sleep artifact that some folks have and other folks don't have. I don't believe it's related to stress or anything like that.

I have heard that somnambulating kids can get themselves into a little trouble (like going outdoors in the cold in their pajamas). Once, my son, believing he was in the bathroom, nearly did his business on my husband's alarm clock!! But, I caught him in time!

Anyway, my son is otherwise healthy, happy, and sound, and I like to think that I am, too. So, being a sleepwalker and a sleeptalker has not really hurt either of us. It's just been something to be aware of.

~Marji

My 2 year old son, Bram was having the same kind of thing happen. Dreaming is how we process the events that happen during the daytime. A theory i have is that my son is processing all of these new things in his life, such as running, climbing, falling, words, concepts, mommy and daddy going to work, being left with a babysitter etc..
When Bram wakes up screaming at night for no apparent reason, I can see he just wants to know I am there. He wakes up happy in the morning and I do not see anything wrong with this process.
Has there been any new change introduced in his life? He might be working out the same thing each night in his dreams.

As long as your little bit of reassurance puts him back to sleep I wouldn't worry about it. I'm sure it's annoying, but at least it's easily taken care of. My daughter used to wake in the middle of the night crying hysterically when she was 4. Actually she wasn't awake. We would make her get up and go to the bathroom, and that seemed to calm her enough to sleep again. It's hard to say if she hurt because needed to potty so bad or it we were waking her out of a bad dream. Either way, it went on for at least a year, and now that she's 8 it rarely happens anymore.

ok... my 3 sons all did this too... first is he potty trained? If he isn't and is still wearing a diaper... I will betcha he is voiding around the same time everynight and because he is "on the training fence" it jolts him awake...

I would suggest two things....

One ... start training(if you have not all ready)

Two ... Cut out drinks at dinner time(little sips are fine after but no chugging a cup of milk before bed)... and make him pee before he goes to bed and again before you go to bed... yep you need to go in and get him up and make him go pee pee kinda half asleep.

Hopefully he won't arouse too much so he will go right back to sleep.

Wish you well with it...

If it is not the training then he may... may be having strange dreams.....