How do you know if your child is sleepwalking?

[jessia]

Might sound silly, but DD1 (5, generally good sleeper, needs lots of it) has always been prone to getting out of bed in the night. She makes a beeline for our bed, gets in and falls asleep. This is not constant and is getting less and less frequent as she gets older, but sometimes she will get out of bed in the evening and we find her in our bed when we go to bed.

Last night about 10 pm I heard a noise and got up to find her halfway down the stairs . She hadn't made a sound, had her eyes open but when I went to her she didn't say anything and didn't protest when I carried her back to bed. She slept straight through till morning and got up no problem. I wouldn't have thought much about it but it was nearly a full moon last night (think it's tonight?) and a cloudless sky and the moon was really shining brightly (though not into her room, she has blinds).

Have never been clued in enough before to notice when she wanders most and if it's always connected with the phase of the moon - does anyone else have any experience?
Aha and in the night the door to upstairs is closed so she isn't in danger if she walks once we are in bed.

I used to sleep walk. Still do sometimes . I'm not sure that mine was related to the moon - I was more like a moth and would go to the light most often.

ds1 was also a regular wanderer. Sleepwalkers usually look a little vague and stary and are generally very compliant so if you just quietly say 'lets take you back to bed' then they'll go without complaint. My parents have some very funny stories about my sleepwalking - I went and asked my dad for a hammer and nail and they once found me sitting on the front step ds1 wandered out onto the balcony on holiday in Majorca when he was small - after deftly unlocking the door. After that I started pushing furniture up against it during the night and keeping the keys under my pillow!

Jessica...I have just started a thread about the full moon! (and i had not read this!)

I am convinced there is deffinitely something about it- as in our house we really do seem to get 3 weeks of quite settled nights and 1 week of disruption- my DS2 sleepwalks- he will then do a wee, and brush his teeth- and return to bed-if we interupt him he gets hysterical-

it took me ages to realise he was sleepwalking, as he seemed so wide awake- he'd talk to me- and i'd answer him- and the next day he had no memory of it.