19 month old - can they have nightmares?

[PiccadillyCircus]

DS is generally a very good sleeper (ie 7pm until 7am ish). Recently his sleep (and hence ours) has been disturbed - sometimes he wakes up within an hour of going to sleep, sometimes it is around 11pm, sometimes in the middle of the night.

He is really unhappy; screaming in what sounds like terror and sometimes his head is completely drenched with sweat.

I've realised that going to bed has been getting a more prolonged process and last night was making an effort to be more "in charge" and he was in bed by 7:10pm, which is a big improvement on what there has been recently. And he didn't wake up in the night last night which I am glad about (Monday night was particularly bad).

Have other people experienced this at all?

yes, ds wakes like this sometimes and i've always assumed it's nightmares. not often, but sometimes.

Wonder why he's having them - hope they stop (for all our sakes )

These nightmares are called night tremours according to my hv, they are caused when the child is doing so much, new skills, addition to the family etc that the brain thinks it is awake, a bit like when we drink to much and we thing we are awake but are in a very odd dream.

I thought they were night Terrors and lots of littles get them..they do pass...but not usually soon enough

I put the wrong word i ment night terrors. Oops

Piccadilly Circus, I've just posted a long message about this on the Night Terrors thread.
My ds gets them from time to time. It's quite common in young kids, but that doesn't make them any the less frightening to witness.
Doctors and 'proffesionals' recommend that you just have to sit them out, talking gently and calmly to the child who is actually asleep through the whole palaver.
Despite some thorough research, I've yet to find a common concensus on the cause but fatique and stress (even something 'minor' like potty training) have been linked.
The good news is that the vast majority of children grow out of them.