Night terrors - anything worked for you?

[Kiddleywinks]

Any advice on how to help a 3 yr old - well, more his poor parents too - on how to help get through his night terrors?
He is such a funny guy during the day, with a fun vivid imagination, but at night he's now terrified to go to sleep, wakes hysterical and crying several times a night.
Parents have took it in turns to reading nice stories, talking about nice things before bedtime, encouraged going to nice places in our dreams when we feel upset or scared.
Nothing seems to be working, and parents are really struggling now themselves with lack of sleep.
He still has a nap during the day - for about an hour, but he self settles and wakes happy so during the day he's fine.

My DS was much older when he had night terrors, and it was one specific thing so we were able to research and do probabilities of it happening here etc

Any ideas please?

[Mouse]

Are they sure it's night terrors and not nightmares?

One of my sons had them from when he was about 3. He shared a room with his brother and used to terrify him by getting out of bed, standing in the corner pointing at his brother and screaming! We'd sit with him for a while, then he'd go back to bed and fall asleep, knowing nothing about what had happened.

We never did find a cause for them, but they stopped completely when we moved house, so we assume it was something to do with the house or bedroom.

[AliceK]

My DS had night terrors when he was a toddler. He would be standing up, screaming and hysterical with his eyes open but he actually wasn't awake. Nothing could console him because he wasn't really awake even though he looked like he was. It's quite alarming to watch as a parent but he never remembered anything about it the next morning. I think I have read that it an help to wake the child shortly before the night terror usually starts as they usually occur at around the same time after dropping off to sleep??
In my DS's case it was just something he outgrew. My DD never had them. I have one mindee at the moment aged 3 who has just started with them :(

xx

[Kiddleywinks]

He wakes crying and fearful and remembers in the morning so would that be nightmares rather than terrors?
He's scared to go to sleep at home so mum or dad has to sit with him holding his hand, he then wakes up crying/screaming/shaking/etc

It's such a shame because he's such a happy little being during the day, bright and bubbly, and very matter of fact about his horrible dreams.
I think he gets that it's not really real, at least in daylight hours, but that doesn't seem to be helping at nighttime...

[AliceK]

Sounds like nightmares rather than night terrors doesn't it. Children have no memory of night terrors. Poor little man.

xxx

[fran90]

My sons now moved on from night terrors to nightmares. He has a really vivid imagination which I'm sure doesn't help him. He is 3 in September but will not sleep without me in bed with him and has also refused to sleep unless it's pitch black. He can always recall them and they've been very bizarre including being chased and pecked by a white Turkey! He's never seen a white Turkey before but is now petrified of turkeys even tho we have black turkeys that are friendly and who he has always played with! I really hope it's something he will grow out of but its so genuine and he will only settle with me cuddling him to sleep in bed at the moment. He also sleep walks as well!

[Mouse]

He wakes crying and fearful and remembers in the morning so would that be nightmares rather than terrors?
He's scared to go to sleep at home so mum or dad has to sit with him holding his hand, he then wakes up crying/screaming/shaking/etc

It's such a shame because he's such a happy little being during the day, bright and bubbly, and very matter of fact about his horrible dreams.
I think he gets that it's not really real, at least in daylight hours, but that doesn't seem to be helping at nighttime...

That sounds like nightmares, not night terrors.

What about trying a dream catcher? Another of my sons had one when he had bad dreams. We explained how the web of the dream catcher caught the bad dreams. It didn't stop them completely, but did work surprisingly well. If he did have a bad dream we told him it was because the dream catcher was full, so we'd shake it outside to get the bad dreams out.

[messyplay]

my daugher had these i read in a book to wake them but not fully after about half an hour just before they go into a deep sleep it worked for her

[Kiddleywinks]

Thanks guys, I shall have a talk with parents and pass your suggestions on x