How to help your child to deal with night terrors
Sometimes your child might find it difficult falling asleep and this can happen if they are facing night terrors. They can mumble, sleep walk or thrash around in bed and these are all experienced during night terrors.
Night terror is a type of disorder where a person is partially awake. It can be triggered by some stressful event that happens to a child. It can make them feel more anxious.
It can be scary as a a parent to watch your child experience night terrors and not be able to sleep peacefully. The child might appear like they are awake but may be unresponsive when you call out their name.
Here we have listed down some ways that help your child to deal with night terrors:-
1- Make sure your child wakes up and sleeps everyday at the same time.
When they fall into a routine of waking up and sleeping at the exact same time, they won’t feel so anxious and will fall asleep easily.
2- If your child is afraid to go to sleep because of how dark his room is then you can install a night lamp for them to feel at ease.
You can even put up glow-in-the-dark stickers that come in various shapes and sizes. If your child likes solar system and galaxy then they will enjoy falling asleep while watching these stickers glow above their bed.
3- Sometimes your child might face night terrors at the exact same time.
If that’s the case, then keep a track of the time so that you can wake them up gently 15 minutes before they face their night terrors.
4- If your child feels anxious through the day, it can cause them to face trouble while sleeping and in turn causes night terrors.
So whenever you find your child anxious or in distress, you can calm them down and reassure them.
5- It’s a good advice to consult your family doctor if the night terrors continue.
There might be an underlying medical condition or mental condition that the doctors can find out.
6- Going to therapy or consulting a counsellor can also help in these cases.
Your child can talk freely with the therapist if they are facing any issues at home or school which can cause night terrors when they sleep.
7- Your child might not feel safe in their room so you make sure you lock all their windows and exterior doors at night.
You can even check their cupboards and under their bed in front of them so they know that they are safe.
Ensure that there are no sharp objects or furnitures that can tip over them when they are sleep walking.
8- You can do calming activities before they go to bed like reading books, playing a puzzle or taking a long, warm bath.
This will ensure that they can de- stress from the day and spend some quality time with you before they go to bed.
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9- Sometimes when your child is facing night terrors, instead of asking them up, it’s a good idea to just wait it out.
You can soothe them down by holding them and pulling them closer to you so they can feel your presence near them.
Do not shout at them instead talk to them in a soothing voice.
10- Try to identify things that stress out your child.
If they are anxious thinking about school the next day then talk to them about it so your can calm them down. If they are having troubles with their friends, then they can confide that to you.
If you provide a safe, loving environment for them to open up and speak to you about anything, then they might not feel so anxious.
Conclusion
We hope the points we have listed above do help your child to overcome night terrors eventually.
Sleep terrors usually happen to children aged 4-12 and tend to go away by the time they are teenagers. You can always consult a doctor if it continues to happen and you and your child is unable to cope up with it.
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