DD Distressed & Sleepwalking

[SammySays]

My DD (8) was sick with a fever around 3 weeks ago and during this time had what I can only describe as a night terror. She ‘woke’ in the night very upset, angry, screaming, crying begging for help. Didn’t recognise me or her dad and was asking for someone to help her. It was really upsetting but eventually she calmed down and you could see the moment of recognition on her face when she ‘woke’ up and realised I was with her. We put it down to the fever but this has now happened a number of times since over the last 3 weeks. When this happens she will fight to get away from us, run because she is scared all the while calling for ‘mummy’. She tried to go down the stairs last night but I was worried about her safety so managed to stop her but it’s really distressing. I’m concerned she will hurt herself with one of these episodes. She doesn’t remember them the following morning, just the cuddling bit with me once she has woken up.

Does anyone have any experience of this please? Not sure whether to take DD to dr but not really sure if that’s an overreaction.

It's apparently common in children at this age. Has she had further sleepwalking episodes? Did you speak to your GP?

A room that's too warm, overtiredness, full bladder can lead to sleepwalking.

there have been a number of episodes and I have noticed that it’s particularly on warm nights so I think that is the trigger. She has never done this when sleeping at her grandparents and their house is a lot cooler so I suspect that’s the cause. She refuses to have a fan on at night though so it’s difficult to manage the heat in her room at night.

I've found it happens more on muggy, warm nights also. It's difficult to manage but we try to open windows in day to let in air, draw curtains when it's sunny, keep pyjamas light and duvet light. Have you spoken to the GP? We spoke to two and they said nothing they can do for kids.

That was me as a child and the GP always said there was nothing they can do. I grew out of it eventually although I still had the occasional episode in my 20s! As a child I used to scream and swear (never swore when awake, I was a very, very shy girl!) It was very odd!

All you can do is make sure she is safe, perhaps install a stairgate again for peace of mind, although I'm told I always used to walk down the stairs during my episodes so she's unlikely to just fall down.

DS is 5 and has night terrors they are horrible so I sympathise! I worry it will turn to full sleepwalking in the next couple of years.

My son was prone to them when he was little up until he was about 10ish. One time he went downstairs and unlocked the kitchen door and went into the garden, crying and looking for something, he didn’t remember in the morning. It’s upsetting for everyone when it happens and exhausting because you don’t sleep worrying you won’t hear them.

when we moved my middle son into the same bedroom freeing a room for my daughter, it stopped. I don’t know, but I’ve put it down to him being alone 🤷🏼‍♀️

Thank you everyone! They have calmed down a bit over the summer holidays but are still very present several times a week. Starting to get used to it and have a little routine of how to handle it now. DD still doesn’t remember it when it happens and I’m a lot calmer as I’m used to it now. Just waiting for her to grow out of it- GP said nothing to be done just let it ride it’s course.

Hello, my daughter is under a sleep clinic and the neurologist says to never intervene with night terrors. Just make sure your child is safe etc and watch quietly from a distance (as hard as that is). In the morning don't talk about the terror and just carry on as normal.

Thanks for sharing @MellyMavis . I wonder if you would mind sharing how you got a sleep clinic referral and what the concerns are to lead to that? Thanks.

My daughter has a health condition so is already under consultant care, her consultant referred her to a sleep clinic due to a sleep disorder (not the night terrors). I think you need a consultant to refer to a sleep clinic and we had to wait a long time to get our first appointment.

Although if your daughter is having lots of night terrors a week I would definitely push for sleep clinic help. It might have stopped by the time your seen!

Thank you so much @MellyMavis . I hope your daughter's health condition is improving.

My DD had them nightly for years you could almost set your clock by them. GP just said will grow out by adolescence, not great when they are only six. There's not much you can do, but try to keep them safe, ie not letting on the stairs, you can't communicate with them or help with their distress. They are worse during fever/illness and hot weather and then their brains seem to rewire and get stuck in a repeat pattern. We still have the odd episode in adolescence.

Ds is 20 now but at one stage he put an app on his phone to record his "sleep" because it is strange people telling you that you talk or shout out and you have no recollection. Once he just walked into the lounge and stood there, then he seemed to come to and asked us what he was doing in the lounge. We told him he had walked to us, he didn't believe us, the alternative was either I or Dh lifted a 5'10" teen out of his room whilst he still slept, carried him down the stairs and plonked him in the lounge upright and for what reason? We can all laugh about it now but it can be really distressing when it is happening. And yes, he still has night terrors but they are just short bursts of yelling. The sleepwalking seems to have stopped.

My advice would be fan wise, maybe fit a ceiling fan, far less noise and it feels more effective at moving air. We have them in every bedroom. Ds also has a 4 tog feather duvet for summer plus natural bedding as it does seem worse when he is hot. For safety reasons I would have some motion sensor so if she does go wandering in the night at least you are alerted to it happening.

Oh yes, the things they get distressed about are very bizarre, one time it was yellow highlighters, the next night searching for a ruler - must have been stationery week!!!