Parenting Tips for Your 41-42 Month Old Child
When you tuck your little boy into bed at night, you expect that he will sleep through the night without any problems. Some nights though, he has bad dreams and wakes up crying and yelling your name. Then one night, something different happens. You can hear him crying and yelling but when you go to him, he seems totally out of it and pushes you away. He may be experiencing a night terror.
Children experience two types of bad dreams. The first is a nightmare, which consists of a scary dream followed by an awakening. The second is a night terror, which happens between deep sleep and light sleep. If your child has nightmares or night terrors, talk with your doctor.
If your child is having nightmares, he:
- will wake up completely
- may be fearful and cry
- may have a hard time falling back asleep because he is scared
- may continue to dream about it
- will remember it the next day and want to talk about it.
If your child is having night terrors, he:
- is still asleep but is crying, screaming, and sweating
- is unaware that you are trying to comfort him
- may push you away
- returns to sleep rapidly without ever waking up completely
- has no recollection of the incident the next day
- may continue night terrors for more nights.
Ways to reduce night terrors:
- Avoid overtiredness, change in your child’s schedule, and stress
- When a night terror occurs, do not panic. Stay calm and soothe your child.
- If it continues to happen for several nights in a row at the same time, wake him 15 minutes before it happens. Have him get up for a drink and bathroom break, than return him to bed and tuck him in. This gives him a total break from the night terror.
- Make sure he is safe. Move all breakables away from his bed and keep the floor clear. He may throw his arms and wander around.
