night waking for water

[LimesMum]

My 2.3 year old DD has started waking crying at night for a bout 2 weeks now (previously slept straight through with an occasional peep or moan but would settle herself).

She doesn't seem to even be properly awake but if left eventually does become wide awake and distressed. However DH started going in and giving her some water, she gulps loads down then goes back to sleep.

I know this is an easy solution but can't help thinking it's not a particularly good habit to get into??

Anyone else had anything like this?

Is she thirsty with the warmer nights?

3 out of 4 of my kids, all under 10, go to bed with a plastic cup of water next their bed. Youngest has a Tommy Tippee cup so it can't go all over the place. Some nights some gets drunk, sometimes none, sometimes all. They help themselves as they want. We each take a drink of water to bed at night so we never saw it as something unusual.

She has a beaker of water beside her in bed but that's the problem - she doesn't seem to drink it herself as she isn't really fully awake! I wish she would!!

Instead of handing her the water could you start trying to train her to pick it up herself even though she's half awake. So go in before she starts getting distressed and use a quiet calm voice to say "have a drink" or something and keep saying about the cup by her bed. You might have to build up so sort of help her to reach for it the first few times and gradually go from there. I don't know if it will work but might be worth a try!