Bad dreams & waking up a lot !!! What can I do ??

[Norah]

Sorry - 'tis me again and the saga of my 5.5 yr old's sleep !

Well - it turns out that she is waking up because she is having bad dreams ! This is happening every night now - about 3 to 3.5 hours after she goes to bed ! She wakes crying and then gets out of bed looking for me/us. I am not convinced that she is really awake - her eyes are a bit rolly and she stares into the middle distance !

She can never explain why she has woken up - and the next day she doesn't remember at all.

So - having adopted the new softly softly approach - cuddle and stroke her back to sleep - a very tired me has moved on to wonder how I can stop this happening ?

Is it a phase ? It's been going on maybe a month now - every night ! Before this she was a great sleeper !

?

My dd occasionaly has nightmares, but we can usually figure out the trigger. Can you get her to talk about it at all? There are some insomnia things that can make people sleepwalk, but you'd need to get a referral from your GP to a sleep clinic.

She's very vague about them - one night she said a policeman was chasing her and was going to arrest her - and once there was a crocodile involved - but generally she doesn't remember much.

I know she has been a bit worried about goblins in her fairy books - so I will knock them on the head and go back to some gentler stories tonight.

Am beginning to feel that she is becoming a sensitive litle soul !

Good timing!! I asked ds's teacher about the same thing this morning!

He is also 5.5 and is doing the exact same thing, seems to be mostly about someone calling him stupid (I won't have the word said in the house) or that he thought we had gone out and left him (goes without saying that we wouldn't). But mostly he is just mumbling and very little makes sense.

Accorging to his teacher, who is the most lovely approachable women with three of her own, if she had a pound for all the reception kids that do this she would be very rich! It seems to just be a stage and often starts out of nowhere and stops the same a few nights/ week later. If it continues for more than a week or so she suggested a call to the school nurse but as ds has only had it three nights (in a row) last week then none last night or the night before I said we'd leave it.

Hope that helps. x

Ds is terrified of Cat in the Hat! He ends up in tears at bedtime if he has even seen a book of it, so I reckon we might have a sensitive one too. His teacher has mentioned at parents evening that he picks up on the other children moods and worries too.

Hope that helps and that you (and dd) have a better night tonight

Oh that's very interesting Neena - must be something to do with imagination kicking in, something developmental maybe ? My dd was upset this week that someone had called her stupid too - and needed a lot of reassurance that she isn't !

Perhaps someone who knows about this stuff will come and advise us !

yup
we've had this. It's called night terrors. Dd is v imaginative and it's almost like she needs to unload her brain. Often coincides with betwetting after years of being dry at night apparently.

We do classical music tapes at bedtime. No stories, she gets too involved.

I will cry if he starts to wet the bed!

He was dry at night when he was just three and it's something I live in fear of as it was almost too easy potty training him. Am sure there ought to be a backlash!

Please not bedwetting!!

Glad to find out it isn't just ds though, always helps to know it's 'normal'

Oh lord - I hope we're not going there !!

Tonight have read her womble story - surely no-one can be scared of wombles ? However - she is currently doing the calling down stairs routine - I have had to promise to give her a cuddle and a kiss when I go to bed - even if she is asleep ! And I think she has settled down now !

I blame the light nights !

Norah how was your night?

We heard not a peep from ds so I'm hoping that it's all over with now.

Hope you had a quiet night too!

Hi Neena,

Thanks for asking - well she still woke up and got out of bed - but wasn't crying - just went gto the loo and started talking to me ! Can't work out whether she is waking to wee or if it is bad dreams and she happens to go for one as she is awake !

I am so tired though - can't focus properly at work now ! Would have a very early night but a bit pointless when she will wake me at 10,30 for sure !

Hope this phase passes soon !