Nightmares and night terrors
What to do when a child shout in the middle of the night?
In the case of a nightmareit's just a bad dream. The nightmares arrive most often towards the end of the night, thechild wakes up and has something to tell, a memory, pictures.
When a little shouting in the first part at night, with a reaction of fright, it is most often nocturnal terror. Thechild is difficult to console. In fact, it sleeps deeply, this phenomenon is quite close to sleepwalking.
He makes a nightmare, how to react ?
You can reassure and comfort your child in situ with simple words. Listen to him tell his nightmare or ask him what happened reassuring him. Better to explain that he had a bad dream than to get on all fours to show him that there is nothing under the bed. This type of behavior ritualizes his fears and can reinforce his anxiety. Try not to give in if he wants to come into your bed, because the more you take this habit, the more likely he will wake up persuaded that his nightmare is threatening and only you can reassure him.
Can we prevent nightmares of his child ?
Anything that can reduce his stress during the day reduces the risk of nightmares. We can also confront the imagination of thechild to some animals that scare him by reading stories. In the case of a child very sensitive, you can tell him funny stories that make fun of monsters.
Should we worry?
No, unless nightmares are very common, and always on the same theme. At this point, a psychiatrist's opinion can help you know if your child was not traumatized by an event, resulting in these nightmares repeat.
How to differentiate nightmare of a night terror?
It occurs at the beginning of the night, while thechild sleeps deeply. He shows physical signs of fear: sweating, choppy breathing, terrified look, panic behavior. Thechild may not recognize his parents, which is very distressing for them.
How to react ?
Do not wake up your child, even if his condition impresses you. Do not be anxious, a night terror is a problem of maturation of the sleep / wake system. This disorder activates the neurovegetative system, which is that of anxiety, hence these manifestations of panic fear.
Should we talk about it the next day?
Needless to mention the thing the next day, thechild do not remember it and it might worry him unnecessarily. If it happened outside the house and was told the episode in a dramatic way, explain to him that it's nothing, that he just slept badly and that it can happen to everyone .
How to cure it ?
Lack of sleep or fever are factors that increase the likelihood of having a night terror. In general, these disturbances disappear with age.
There is no reason for concern except in the case of frequent terrors or associated with sleepwalking. It may be useful at this time to do an encephalographic examination to check that it is not about epilepsy.
