The night terrors affect 15% of children at some point in their lives. This occurs from one year to 7 years, and can even go up to adolescence.
An episode can last anywhere from 2 to 40 minutes, and when it ends, your child quickly falls asleep without remembering the incident. If you have come this far, it may be because your son suffers from them and you would like to help him. Don’t worry, from this article, we show you how to help your child with night terrors.
Steps to follow:
- Find information about night terrors so you can act better. Remember that they are sleep disturbances in which your child could sit while lying down, cry, scream and even talk but without being awake. That is why they may not respond to what you say. This alteration does not mean that your child has any kind of psychological problem.
- Don’t wake him up. As with a sleepwalking person, you do not have to wake them up. You are guided to continue sleeping but without interfering with your sleep process.
- Turn on the lights so that your child is not confused by the shadows and say calm phrase.
- If your child has a night terror you will not be able to comfort him, and if he is small and you want to hold him, he may be more irritated. Therefore, do not catch him unless your child is in danger of hurting himself or if you see that he will really comfort him.
- Never shake, shake, or yell at your child because that will make them more nervous.
- Speak soft and calm to him. If he becomes very agitated, get in the middle of him and any obstacles near him that may present him the least danger.
- When he has calmed down, put away everything on the floor in your child’s room or what he could trip over, since like a sleepwalker he can stand up in bed.
- Maintain precautions at home, such as locking all doors and windows. If you live in a house with more than one plant, put up a protective fence to prevent it from falling down the stairs, etc.
Let the night terror run its normal course, but under your watch to avoid injury to your child.
This article is merely informative, we do not have the power to prescribe any medical treatment or make any type of diagnosis. We invite you to see a doctor in the case of presenting any type of condition or discomfort.
