2.5yo fear of sleep??

[Broom19]

My DD is just over 2.5 years and has been a relatively good sleeper- little episodes of poor sleep here and there, but nothing out of the ordinary.

However, recently, she SCREAMS at bedtime (doesn't want me/ daddy to go downstairs) and also wakes at least once in the night SCREAMING. When I say screaming, I mean full on going for it- throwing herself around, top of her voice, tears, the lot.

During the night, she will settle again if one of us goes in the room and lays next to her bed but, as soon as gets wind that we've gone, it starts all over again. Last night, my DP spent half an hour in there at 1am and then she woke again at 4am. I went in there for half an hour, but she caught me leaving and the screaming resumed.

We have resorted to having the travel cot up in our bedroom and, if we transfer her into there, she settles straight back to sleep for the rest of the night. Obviously, this isn't a long term solution, as we are still woken every night and she can't come to sleep in our room forever!

Any suggestions welcome! She has a night light, teddies, etc, and we don't shut the door to her room (but she does have a baby gate across it).

Hi I don't have any advice but just wanted to say your not alone, our DS is the same age and like yours has always been a good sleeper bit has recently been having night time wake ups where he sits up and cries in a state. My friend is a HV and she said this age is where hey start to develop fears, irrational feelings and a part of their brain responsible for their imagination is developing rapidly x

Hi, sorry no suggestions either but wanted to say we are going through the same with our 3 year old son, I sleep on his floor every night when he screams as we have our 4 month old daughter in our room, I hope this passes soon as I am up multiple times every night. My son has started having nightmares and his imagination is running away with him like the PP says, it must be very frightening for him as trying to explain to a 3 year old what a bad dream is, is nit the easiest. I guess all we can do for now is be there and reassure them and like all phases “it will pass”

I've had similar with my 2 year old dc.. since May , having been fabulous at bedtimes and sleeping through. A couple of things have helped- or maybe he has just come through the phase. Anyway, at bedtime i now get him into cot and turn light off but stay in room and sing his favourite song. I've found if I gradually move out of room and still sing it distracts him a bit from my leaving - rather than the sudden separation. I will be singing about buses on the landing for about 5 minutes but it seems to reassure him. Also, no real advice about nightime but I do always leave him.for a few minutes before going in. More often than not he stops crying by 4 minutes if i don't go in. If I go in its a massive ordeal for a good hour. I know that might not work, but it's amazing how the high pitch hysterical crying fizzles to nothing within minutes if i don't intervene. Good luck!

We've been going through similar with DS (same age) and I found this article very helpful:

www.babysleepscience.com/single-post/2018/10/23/The-Disruption-of-Sleep-Due-to-Fears-and-Anxieties-And-What-To-Do-About-It

We've had a lot of tears, wanting us to stay in the room, at bedtime and some night wakings too. I have been giving DS a lot of reassurance, taking time over the bedtime routine, explaining what is going to happen, going back in to check on and reassure him, etc. I have been telling him that I'll come back to check on him later, even if he's sleeping I'll come and see him, and that seems to have helped.

The article says that you shouldn't stay until they fall asleep and then creep out because it makes it worse when they wake up, and I agree with that.

I have "cheated" a bit in that when I leave I'll say I'll come back in a minute, which I do, but then he still doesn't want me to leave so I say I'll come back "later", but after I leave the second time he goes quiet so I obviously don't go back in! I do check on him before I go to bed (when he's fast asleep) so it's not a complete lie...

A lady I work with said her daughter used to do this. She would go to sleep easily enough but after a few hours would just sit up in bed and start screaming. Apparently it was something called night terrors. I have no idea if this is even a proper thing but I've just googled it and there's quite a bit of stuff there you might identify with. Hope it helps.