disturbed sleep in 4yr old, normal?

[massivebigMissCathCartface]

Well its sure been a long time since I last posted!
Can someone please give me some back up so I can stop dd's dad from panicing?
Dd is nearly 4, has never been a great sleeper and now her dad is suggesting we take her to the doctors as she's been talking a lot and crying in her sleep a lot lately too. To be honest I never actually hear her but he claims that she is disturbed all night when she stays at his house.
He's a huge worrier and suffers with anxiety as it is.
I am fairly sure this is quite common in young children as they have such active imaginations, but really before I continue to dismiss his worries and reassure him that there is nothing wrong, I just thought I check to see what you think

anyone?

I would say that it may be fairly common. My 2 1/2 year old does this, and often wakes up mid conversation. If I were you, I would ask her if she'd had any dreams lately. She will either not be able to remember them, or it give you a clue as to what's going on. Also, if she's been watching TV that day and seen a film or something that she can't quite work out, maybe her brain is trying to process it? Try getting Dad to have a chat with her at teatime to see if anything is worrying her, so she gets it off her chest but it doesn't leak into bed time- maybe you could start this first. We all have individual sleep cycles, and maybe hers is just a little shorter so she's semi conscious for a time. I'm no expert, but hopefully this might help? Good Luck!

thank you! I am inclined to think that too. I have asked her if she remembers any dreams and she doesn't normally.
To be honest I think it's her dad with the problem. I'll just give him reassurance - mn has spoken!

DS is 4.5, he is a pretty good sleeper generally but does go through phases of nightmares. I generally put it down to his vivid imagination. Sometimes it is linked to a particular film/tv prog that he has found scary.

He is also sometimes more disturbed at night than others - moaning and wriggling about - but all stuff that I wouldn't know about if I wasn't in the room (I sometimes am in his bedroom trying to settle his younger sister, so that's how I know.)

So I would say, within 'normal' range for 4yr old sleep...