hi all
this is my first post so please bear with me,i am after some advice on my 2yr 8month old's sleping issues.
he goes down with no real problems at around 7.30pm after a bath,glass of milk and a story.but then at around 11-11.30 he wakes up crying and asking for mum and dad,a quick reassuring talking to and he normally goes straight back to sleep,only to wake up at around 3.30-4 am full of beans and wanting to get up and start his day.
but the last few nights he has woken up(well we think he is awake) crying,screaming and telling us that he is scared of something.he appears to be awake but isn't if you know what i mean,he is aware of us but also seems to be afraid of something.
i have been looking at night terror web sites but am not totally sure if he has all the signs etc or if a few occasions of this happening is normal etc as this is our first child.
any help would be fantastic.
cheers in advance.

my daughter went through a period like that.... i thought it was nightmares too, but every single time she woke up screaming, we went ahead and took her potty (we were potty training and figured since she was up...). every single time, she would go FOREVER. i finally figured out that my daughter was waking up BECAUSE she needed to go potty. i can only guess that the hysterical screaming and the fear were related to the fact that she did NOT want to have an accident! we're not mean controlling parents, she's just a perfectionist! ;) she woke up two or three times a night for quite awhile, and she screamed every single time until she started to understand that she could just wake up and call mommy or daddy to come help her go potty.

ANYWAY..... that is only one of probably hundreds of possibilities. other things might be something scary he saw on tv, cutting back molars, tension in the house, a new babysitter, food allergy, etc. hope this helps!

my daughter went through a period like that.... i thought it was nightmares too, but every single time she woke up screaming, we went ahead and took her potty (we were potty training and figured since she was up...). every single time, she would go FOREVER. i finally figured out that my daughter was waking up BECAUSE she needed to go potty. i can only guess that the hysterical screaming and the fear were related to the fact that she did NOT want to have an accident! we're not mean controlling parents, she's just a perfectionist! ;) she woke up two or three times a night for quite awhile, and she screamed every single time until she started to understand that she could just wake up and call mommy or daddy to come help her go potty.

ANYWAY..... that is only one of probably hundreds of possibilities. other things might be something scary he saw on tv, cutting back molars, tension in the house, a new babysitter, food allergy, etc. hope this helps!



thanks for your advice and time in your reply,might well be related as we are currently potty training,preety sucessfully with no1's(sorry),but we are having a bit of trouble with him going to no2's as he does not like going in his potty and now obviously finds it very uncomfortable if he goes in his nappie.so will definately try taking him to the gig toilet next time this happens.
once again thanks for your advice.

Look to this post. It may give you some additional insight and help.

http://www.healthboards.com/boards/showthread.php?t=523806

Sincerely,
MG

Night terrors are a common sleep problem among children. By some estimates, about 15% of younger children have occasional night terrors. Although most common in children between the ages of 2 and 6 years, they can occur at almost any age.
Although usually considered to be normal or benign, they are often very scary and distressing to parents who often overreact, especially during a child's first night terror.

Symptoms
When you hear how most experts describe night terrors, it is easy to see why parents find them distressing. Children who have night terrors are usually described as 'bolting upright' with their eyes wide open, with a look of fear and panic, and letting out a 'blood curdling scream'. These kids will usually also be sweating, breathing fast and have a rapid heart rate (autonomic signs). And although it will seem like they are awake, during a night terror, children will appear confused, will not be consolable and won't recognize you.
Typical night terrors last about 5 to 30 minutes and afterwards, children usually return to a regular sleep. If you are able to wake your child up during a night terror, he is likely to become scared and agitated, mostly because of your own reaction to the night terror, especially if you were shaking or yelling at him to wake up. Instead of trying to wake up a child having a night terror, it is usually better to just make sure he is safe, comfort him if you can, and help him return to sleep once it is over.

Diagnosis
The diagnosis of night terrors is usually made by the history of a child 'waking' early in the night screaming and being inconsolable. Night terrors are most often confused with nightmares, but unlike night terrors, a child having a nightmare is usually easily woken up and comforted.
The other worry for many parents is that these episodes are a type of seizure. Although different types of partial seizures, including temporal lobe and frontal lobe epilepsy, can appear similar to night terrors, they are usually brief (30 seconds to a few minutes) and are more common in older children and adults.

Treatments
No treatment is usually necessary for routine night terrors. Since they are often triggered in children who are overtired, sticking to a good bedtime routine and making sure your child is getting enough rest can help to prevent them.
For children who get frequent night terrors, it might help to wake your child up before the time that he usually has a night terror. This is thought to interrupt or alter the sleep cycle and prevent night terrors from occuring (it also works for sleepwalking).

Rarely, sleep medications might be used for a short time if your child gets very frequent night terrors.

What You Need To Know
Night terrors are also called sleep terrors or pavor nocturnus.


Similar to sleepwalking and sleeptalking, night terrors are considered to be a disorder of arousal and are a partial arousal from non-REM sleep.


Unlike a nightmare, children usually don't recall having a night terror.


Also unlike nightmares, night terrors usually occur in the early part of the night, about 1 to 4 hours after going to sleep.


If your child gets night terrors, make sure that baby sitters and other caregivers are aware of them and know what they should do if one occurs.


Most children outgrow night terrors as they get older.

thanks for your advice and time in your reply,might well be related as we are currently potty training,preety sucessfully with no1's(sorry),but we are having a bit of trouble with him going to no2's as he does not like going in his potty and now obviously finds it very uncomfortable if he goes in his nappie.so will definately try taking him to the gig toilet next time this happens.
once again thanks for your advice.

we got our daughters a seat that goes on the big potty - i let each of them pick out the one they wanted (my oldest got sponge bob, and my youngest picked out dora), so they would be excited to use the potty. might be something to try :)