4yo Night Terrors and Fear of the Dark..any tips?

[krispykreme11]

Please help.. my soon to be 4yo DD1 has been over the last few months waking up several times screaming in the night and despite us trying to calm her down, she is still hysterical. Has anyone experienced this? She has also started to be v scared of the dark, we leave landing light on and she has a peppa pig nightlight, but she still wants me to sit with her till she falls asleep, which sometimes can take upto an hour meaning my evening disappears!

If anyone has any tips for dealing with night terrors and fears of the dark I'd be grateful, going insane!

Thanks in advance

You can do a lot with your wind-down bedtime routine... nothing stimulating, no rich foods, employ sleep-inducing drinks, warm bath etc. Nightmares tend to happen when the brain is still working overtime when it's asleep and are made worse by stress or anxiety. So if there's anything she might be worried about - starting school for example - talk it through. Keep the bedroom quite clear of junk. Too many toys, colours and shapes in a half-lit room can seem threatening when you're half-asleep. Close other doors that are visible from her bed - open doors suggest something might come through. And sometimes agreeing to sit with them is interpreted as 'there really is something to be worried about'. I've seen people suggest using anti-monster spray... a plant mister filled with water that you use to de-monster the bedroom (that's quite a fun one). Good luck

Thanks Chil1234, tried to break free last night and tonight and had a major battle on my hands, she has only just gone to sleep and yes had to sit with her, so frustrating!

Thanks for the tips, esp regarding wind down time and nothing too stimulating... her room is quite clear of toys, all in her toycupboard...when you say sleep inducing drinks, do you mean hot chocolate?

Hi there, I have been through the same thing with my DD. She is 4 now but they started when she was 3. The key with night terrors is that they are not awake and they are called night terrors because they are terrible for the parents! When children are in the grip of a night terror they aren't awake and often, if you don't wake them, they won't remember it in the morning. You should not try and comfort her but stay near her (to make sure she doesn't hurt herself) and wait for it to die down. They only awake when you try to comfort them and in my experience that tended to make things louder and that's when they get more upset. I have huge sympathy for you, it's very hard. They usually happen 2 hours after they have gone to sleep, but they can also happen at other times. My Doctor advised me to wake her up just before I thought the night terror would start, (this is meant to break the cycle), give her some milk and let her go back to sleep. Also, I found a really consistent calm bedtime routine helped and sending her to bed earlier made a difference. I don't let her have anything with chocolate in close to bedtime as I find it stimulates my DD. I'd just offer some milk and a plain biscuit or toast.
Re the sitting with her while she goes to sleep, yes I had this too. Perhaps she might like some very calm, quiet music playing while she goes to sleep?, or you could try leaving her when she's had her story and say you'll be back in 2 minutes, then 5 minutes, then gradually increase it, it might take a few nights, but eventually she would start to fall asleep on her own. Maybe you could put another lamp in her room as well, with a low wattage light bulb in it.
Good luck!