Does Your Child Suffer from Night Terrors?

Night terrors are not the same as night mares. Night terrors are not a common occurrence in children but if they do occur it is usually in children between eighteen months and six years of age.  Night terrors can be extremely distressing for you, but despite appearances, they are not distressing for your child. 

The reason for this is that night terrors usually occur in the first few hours after going to bed when your child is in very deep sleep. Unlike a nightmare, your child remains asleep during the whole event; even if they are thrashing, walking, screaming or have their eyes open. In the morning they will have no memory of having had the night terror.

Night terrors are quite normal and nothing to be concerned over. They will usually go away by themselves as your child develops a more mature sleep pattern. If your child suffers night terrors don’t try to wake them up - they will only be disorientated and confused. Trying to console them is also futile as they are not conscious of your efforts. If they are thrashing, make sure that they are safe and not going to hurt themselves. Once they stop thrashing guide them back to bed and tuck them in, and they will usually slip back into a calm sleep state quite quickly.

If you’re concerned about the frequency or duration of your child’s night terrors, speak to your family doctor about it.