3.5 year old waking screaming 3x night - not night terrors

[whywhywhy5]

Help please! I know this if the most boring topic ever.

DS 3.5 wakes 3 times a night for no reason - room pitch black, no relationship to temperature or noise. Usually just have to go in and speak to him ai minute then go, but if you don't go he will go wild - waking the street territory.

I'm so tired that I'm feeling pretty pissed off with him! I have to be up at 5am so it's brutal.

Hopeful bump

Why have you ruled out night terrors?

Scared of the dark? So if he wakes and opens his eyes he screams with fear?
Maybe a gentle night light?
I am an adult and i still don't like being in "pitch black"

Why pitch black?

Sorry not quite pitch black. I meant properly blackouted. He's got one of those little Gro clock type things that isn't quite as bright

Difficult to explain why I don't think it's night terrors. Probably because he used to be a git in the morning by screaming his head off until we got him and it's the same kind of behaviour / tone of scream

My 2.5 year old is the same...if she wakes in the night she doesn't call for us etc but cries and screams for one of us to go in. No idea why to be honest. If we are lucky she will settle back to sleep quickly after a cuddle

Get them a plug in night light- I don't know any child that age who likes to sleep in pitch black.
Monitor what they're watching on tv- so many Disney films are actually 6 plus and have scenes which could be very scary to a 3 or 4 yo etc.
Do they have any history or ear pain or any digestive issues which could be causing pain like trapped wind? Worth ruling these things out too.

Sounds like he's having nightmares. DD is 2.5 and she has at least one most nights, screams and shouts but settles instantly when someone goes in. She's barely awake when it happens but v scared, just wants to know we're all still here, bless her.