My daughter was about a year and a half when we experienced her first “night terror.”
My husband and I were lying in bed watching a movie when I suddenly heard her start screaming over the monitor. It wasn’t a normal scream either. She sounded petrified. I looked at the monitor and she was standing up screaming.
I ran into her room and grabbed her out of her crib. She continued to scream no matter what I did or said and real tears streamed down her face. I looked her up and down and all over, thinking something might’ve happened.
Was she hurt?
Was she sick?
No sooner than it started, it was over. It was like a light switch turned on. Almost as if she “woke up” and she looked at me confused as if to say “why are you in my room holding me?” She smiled, said something goofy and just held me.
What in the world just happened? Little did I know that was the beginning of our experience of what we found out were night terrors.
What is a night terror?
Night terrors can be different for everyone but they are essentially characterized by kids crying and being scared or fearful during sleep. Fortunately, they’re rare and happen in only 3-6% of kids. (Lucky us) According to WebMD, “Unlike nightmares, most children do not recall a dream after a night terror episode, and they usually do not remember the episode the next morning.” (Thank goodness!)
Unfortunately I’ve learned that night terrors cause my daughter to be inconsolable and there is nothing I can do or say during these terrors until they are over. This seems to be pretty common.
What are the signs of a night terror?
- Screaming out in fear
- Suddenly sitting up in bed
- Sweating
- Thrashing around
- Acting scared
- Saying things that don’t make sense (For example, my daughter is now three and had a terror episode just the other night where she was screaming that she wanted to “wash her hands to get the bugs off!”
How do I help?
Night terrors make me feel extremely helpless. There is nothing I can do to make it end any faster.
The best thing, in my opinion, is to make sure she stays safe if she’s thrashing around and patiently wait it out with her.
There is no treatment for night terrors but there are things you can do to help avoid them. For instance, we have always noticed that my daughter experiences night terrors when she’s overtired.
When she was younger, if she skipped a nap and had an extremely long and busy day, it was guaranteed that a night terror would happen. It took us a while to put two and two together, but it made perfect sense after we figured it out. They don’t happen near as often as they used to, but I try my hardest to make sure she naps or at least gets some rest time in during the day. This isn’t always do-able, but being overtired is one of the biggest causes of night terrors.
Ways to Avoid Night Terrors
- A relaxing bedtime routine
- Not letting your child stay up too late
- Helping your child from becoming overtired
- Reducing stress
Dealing with Night Terrors
I think as a parent, feeling helpless is one of the hardest and most frustrating things. However, the positive aspect of a night terror is that they have no recollection of them the next day.
Night terrors are not usually a cause for concern or even a medical issue. For instance, I’ve asked my daughter the next morning if she remembers things like yelling “I need to wash my hands to get the bugs off!” and she giggles and has no clue. That gives me a sense of peace that they aren’t mentally bothering her. As always, if you have any deeper concerns, please reach out to your physician.
For now all we can do is shrug them off. (And keep a journal of the crazy things she says during them!)
Have your kids had night terrors?
