Seeking Moms with Toddlers That Bit and Have Night Terrors

I'd bring him to my homeopath. It could be more than just a behavioral problem. If you'd like her number, just email me. good luck.

My 10 year old had night terrors when he was younger. The doctor said gently wake him up about 45 minutes after he fell asleep and then allow him to go right back to sleep. It worked for us. Not to mention, as he got older he gradually grew out of them.

I'm no help with the biting part. Never had a biter. May sound simple, but tell him to stop because it really hurts. Then sit him in timeout for a few minutes every time he does it.

I had a biter. He bit for almost 6 months. He'd bite for 6 weeks, then stop for 1, then bite for another 2 weeks, then stop, etc, etc. He would only bite his friends - not us (his parents) or his teachers. We tried everything - time out, biting him back, losing toys and treats. The only thing that really hit home was when we would put him in time out, completely ignore him and focus 100% on the "victim". Love on the victim, console the victim, soothe the victim, and ignore the biter. Once he stopped getting attention, it stopped almost immediately. Every kid is a bit different; you'll have to find what works best for you. Don't get discouraged. Biting gets a very, very bad rap (perhaps as it should), but it does not mean you have a bad child. It's a really hard thing. I hope you have understanding people around you to help you with it. Ignore the bitter parents - they haven't experienced it and look at you as a bad mom when you are just doing the best you can.

Concerning night terrors. I actually had them as a child - from about 3 years old until 7 or 8. My mom said she would just try to stay out my way and keep me from harming myself when necessary. I would act completely awake so it can be scary. Don't scream or shout or make sudden movements to wake your child up. It's scary for the little one too! I would remember a few night terrors, but I would forget most of them. Does it typically happen with a fever? That's when mine would hit. Good luck - your little one will grow out of both phases!!

My Pediatritions nurse practitioner gave us the formula for stopping night terrors: They usually happen about the same time every night so set your alarm for about 10 minutes earlier, then go in and shake him by the leg or arm until he looks up at you like you are crazy (or until you are sure he is really awake)then let him go back to sleep. One week of this should break the cycle.
We didn't need to do it though, we switched our daughter to goat milk and have had no more night terrors, crankiness, fussyness, whining. (or the occasional vomiting, rashes etc that we were told were reflux, viruses etc.)
My mother in law and husband have been telling the girls (we have 17mo. twins) that they are going to pull their teeth out and feed them to the fish, dog, whatever. I usually try to intercept the bite before it happens (even if I have to put my hand in the way of the teeth)and tell them,"No, we don't bite- it hurts". I hate to say it but their way seems to be working better.
Good luck
Beth

Bite him back. Not hard, just enough so he feels the discomfort. The night terror will go away on their own. My neice used to have terrible ones. YOu can hold him and soothe him, but they just have to go away on their own. Is that something new? Perhaps something has disturbed him from a disruption or some change in his life?? Good luck and God Bless.

i too thought my daughter was having night terrors she woke up like you described every night for about a week... then she had a huge growth spurt. growing pains... the next time she did this i gave her Tylenol each night before bed and that seemed to help. good luck hope this helps

For my kids, night terrors were caused by not enough sleep. The biting is a phase that must be nipped in the bud with swift action. We used scolding, timeout and apologies. My kids are also more prone to bad behavior when they aren't getting enough sleep. My kids sleep from 8 pm to 7 am and get a 2 hour nap.