Night terrors in a 4-year-old child. Why do children have night terrors? How to understand that a child is scared

Parents are really scared of night tantrums in a 2-year-old child. Komarovsky advises to consult a specialist in case of frequent night tantrums. After all, this indicates that the baby’s nervous system is exhausted, perhaps something hurts him or he has nightmares (again, against the background of nervous overexertion). There are also single attacks that do not recur. Today we will talk about the causes of night tantrums in a child of 2 years old, which are repeated stably. We will also learn how to deal with such a problem.

Unstable schedule

The cause of night tantrums in a child of 2 years old can be instability in the daily routine. Babies are especially sensitive to sudden regime changes. For example, he has just been sent to a kindergarten, where everything is scheduled by the hour: classes, games, sleep for an hour, walks, and so on. At home, the child had a completely different regime, he could play when he wanted, sleep as he got tired, eat as needed, walk only with mom or dad. They teach him to a different routine, and now he plays on the street with a teacher and other kids.

If the child is not yet attending kindergarten, then a schedule must be established. The baby should wake up and fall asleep at the same time. Eat on time, walk on schedule. In the future, this will help to easily adapt to the kindergarten regime, and the changes will not affect the baby's psyche.

Adults easily experience such changes as a shift in lunch or rest, while children still have a very weak nervous system, and any changes are real stress for them.

Another reason for night tantrums in a child of 2 years old can be an increase or decrease in daylight hours. For example, he was put to bed when it was already dark, but here it is light. Or vice versa - they went to bed when it was still light, and now it is dark around, and against this background, the baby may have nightmares or, upon a sudden awakening, imagine something.

Busy evening

Children's nights can occur against the background of overwork in the afternoon. Many people just after the childhood daytime sleep they love to go shopping, take kids to entertainment centers. Yes, and most often adults go to visit in the evening.

A rich program of the child should be before daytime sleep, in the afternoon he gets very tired. Advice to parents: at least an hour before bedtime, you need to collect all the toys, persuade the child to play quiet games, take a bath, watch a good cartoon, read a fairy tale. An hour before bedtime, the baby should calm down mentally. Games in entertainment centers or visiting guests should be completely excluded. If you need to get out of the house at this time, it is better to ask grandmothers, aunts, nannies or other people close to the child to sit with him.

No daytime rest

It is this factor that can provoke night tantrums in a child of 2 years. Until this age, children have a rest during the day without fail. With the onset of the age of two, many mothers and fathers make a mistake: the baby does not ask to sleep, well, let him play, he will fall asleep earlier in the evening and sleep better all night. You can't skip daytime sleep. For a child, the whole day is a very long period, the baby's body must definitely rest for a while.

Many children really do not feel tired, and they refuse to respond to their mother’s calls to sleep for an hour, run away, and may even begin to act up. It's okay, try to calm the child as much as possible, he will definitely fall asleep.

Diseases

Night tantrums in a 2-year-old child can be triggered by an incipient or already existing disease, accompanied by pain or high temperature. Evaluate the baby's condition for the whole day: were there any prerequisites for the disease. Ask if something hurts, take the temperature, even if the forehead is not hot.

Stably recurring night tantrums in a 2-year-old child, when there are no signs of illness, the schedule is stable and there is no overwork, may signal high intracranial pressure or an unbalanced psyche. It is impossible to identify this on your own, you need to see a doctor.

nightmares

Tantrums at night in a child can be caused by scary dreams. The cause of nightmares in a dream can be cartoons watched before going to bed. Today there are a lot of cartoons (especially animated series) featuring villains, monsters, evil robots and other evil spirits. For a child, especially a two-year-old, watching such programs is harmful and dangerous, they are not in the best way displayed in the psyche.

Do not turn on cartoons for the baby at night at all, only if these are not stories about Winnie the Pooh or other goodies (with no villains). For example, Smeshariki, Soviet and Disney cartoons are perfect. And best of all, before going to bed, do not turn on the TV for the baby at all, play a quiet game, read a fairy tale.

Even if the child is just playing, running, do not turn on action movies and horrors. The kid can see something out of the corner of his eye, and his brain picks up screams, gunfire and other unpleasant noise, which, as a result, can cause a nightmare and hysteria. Don't watch TV loudly when your baby is sleeping. Any loud sound can provoke a nightmare or a sudden awakening of the child, after which tantrums often occur.

Another reason for nightmares: someone abruptly (accidentally, or on purpose during the game) frightened the baby, jumped out from around the corner, or the child ran a lot, hid, was tickled. Such active games should take place only in the daytime, hyperactive pastime should not be allowed at least an hour before bedtime.

Unfavorable psychological situation in the family

Children react sharply to the situation in the family. If parents swear, drink, there are scandals and even fights - all this is reflected in the psyche of the child.

A kid can get a nervous strain, even when parents scold an older brother or sister for a deuce received at school, while doing homework, for the lack of order in the room and so on.

You can’t shout at a two-year-old baby, let alone spank him for some pranks or carelessness.

Always, everything and everyone can be explained calmly. Avoid scandals at home, especially in the presence of children, and even more so, do not yell at them. Children's psyche is very weak. First, nightmares, tantrums, and then more serious psychological disorders may appear.

Talking to a Kindergarten Teacher

The cause of night tantrums in a child may be that he is offended in kindergarten. Other children, even nannies and the teacher himself, can become offenders. We do not see what is happening in the kindergarten group, and educators may be hiding something.

Bring the teacher into an open conversation. Find out if there was any inappropriate behavior on his part (slapped your child or another in front of him), if the teacher or nanny swears. It can be traced. Just linger for a while in the garden, come there in the afternoon or earlier than usual for the child, talk to other parents. It is also necessary to find out if other children offend the baby, if there was an incident during the games (he fell heavily, fought, hit, and so on).

Night tantrum in a child 2 years old: what to do?

So, you put the baby to bed, went about your business, or also went on vacation. And suddenly, in the middle of the night, a heart-rending scream is heard. What to do in a situation where the baby does not respond to the fact that you have already come, breaks out of your hands and continues to scream loudly? Specialist advice for a night tantrum in a 2-year-old child will help parents quickly recover and calm the baby.

In no case do not panic yourself, because this condition is transmitted to the child, and we do not need to aggravate his condition. Get a grip, because this moment you are the child's guide from a nightmare to a calm reality. Start talking to the child, but without anxiety, calmly and measuredly.
Show that the baby is not alone, remember some of his favorite fairy tales or a funny incident, talk calmly with the baby.
Body contact can also help calm a frightened child. Hug the baby, gently stroke the back, lie down next to him.

What to do after the first tantrum?

If this was an isolated case, then do not rush to resort to the help of drugs. Pediatrician Yevgeny Komarovsky advises generally to use medicines as a last resort. According to him, the normalization of sleep is not a treatment with drugs, but a correction of conditions.

Install a night light with soft light in the child's bedroom, ventilate the room before going to bed. Don't overfeed your baby before bed, but don't put him to bed hungry either. The food should be light, yogurt, milk with cookies or a glass of sweetened kefir / fermented baked milk are excellent.

Medical Solution

With night tantrums in a child of 2 years old, only a specialist should prescribe medications and only after establishing the cause of disturbing sleep. You should not prescribe pills to your baby on your own, they can only do harm.

Usually, to improve sleep, a course of "Magnesium B6", "Glycine", soothing teas, for example, "Evening Tale" is prescribed. All these funds will not harm the baby, but still you can’t start giving them to a child without a doctor’s prescription, which will set the correct dosage and frequency of administration.

Folk remedies

How to save a child of 2 years from night tantrums? Drugs may not be required at all, because there are a lot folk ways to improve children's sleep and get rid of nightmares.

Aromatherapy. Before going to bed, bathe your baby in warm water, add a few drops of lavender oil to the bathroom. This remedy has long been used for deep and restful sleep. The same oil can be dropped on the far corner of the child's pillow or blanket. After a couple of hours, it will begin to smell fragrant, giving the baby a restful sleep.
"Sleepy tea" can be bought at a pharmacy, or you can make it yourself. Brew 0.5-1 tablespoon of hop cones in a glass of boiling water, let it brew and cool, and before going to bed, let the baby drink a third of a glass.
"Sleepy cocktail" will appeal to those with a sweet tooth. Crush a banana with half a glass of milk (warm) and half a glass of chamomile tea. Add two drops of motherwort and a spoonful of honey.

Much less than children. At the same time, babies can see nightmares already at the age of one.

According to some researchers, every second or third kid between the ages of 3 and 7 is prone to nightmares. At the same time, they interfere with sleep not only for children, but also for their parents.

Terrible dreams can unsettle all family members, hinder the proper development of the child, driving him into depression, fears, depression.

In this article: why a child has nightmares, their nature and causes, what parents should do, how to help a little man cope with night terrors.

The nature of childhood nightmares

In the last few decades, the psyche of children has been subjected to enormous psycho-emotional stress and stress. A clear dependence of the frequency and degree of nightmares on strength, experiences, and excess of emotions has been established.

Computer, TV, psychological atmosphere in the family, kindergarten, school, in the yard - everything affects the quality of children's sleep. Their environment (parents, educators, peers) often itself needs the help of psychologists. As a result, the number of children suffering from nightmares is steadily increasing.

A nightmare suddenly arises in the phase, in the morning or in the second half of the night.

The nature of the dream- very intense and colorful with elements of hopelessness, hostility.

The plot is ominous: chase, danger, punishment, suffering, death. The kid experiences fear of such strength that he wakes up from horror quickly. He can easily remember a nightmare before the smallest details and tell not only immediately after waking up, but also the next day.

After such a night "adventure" repeated easy falling asleep is excluded.

rare nightmares in children are more common and do not pose a serious problem. They pass by 5-6 years. Parents easily cope with this kind of nightmare by normalizing the atmosphere in the family, and taking other necessary actions.

Frequent and severe nightmares can seriously interfere with the lives of both children and others. Particularly prone to intense nightmares are emotional, imaginative, hypersensitive children from 3 to 5 years of age. They can confuse dream and reality, which complicates their communication with other people, proper development.

The memory of night terrors causes nervous breakdowns, daytime tantrums, negative or depressed behavior. The child may experience fear of falling asleep, bed, loneliness.

Childhood nightmares at different ages

For the first time a small person meets fears at about 3 years old. Psychologists consider this process a natural and logical stage in the development of a person, his maturation. nervous system.

Children of all ages experiencing nightmares. Their the largest number fixed from 3 to 5 years. At this age, boys are more likely to have nightmares.

Another wave of fears begins at 6 and 7 years of age: children are experiencing increasing pressure at school and family. Particularly impressionable natures who have learned that (a crushed bug dies forever) experience fear of reality.

Parents need to create an atmosphere of absolute security in the house. The question of death and life can be discussed without unnecessary details, but seriously and honestly, try to give only the information that the child requests.

The child's psyche at this age is very vulnerable, parents should carefully filter the information to which the child has access: exclude scenes of cruelty, violence from TV screens, computer games.

From birth to 7-8 years a child sees more nightmares than in a lifetime. The number of bad dreams decreases with age. Scientists explain it this way: children's nightmares are a natural and necessary stage in the development of the brain, during which the child learns to overcome fears and cope with various problems.

By the age of 12 most children completely get rid of night terrors.

In adolescence, nightmares are not excluded, their causes and content are closer to the nightmares of an adult.

How to understand that a child is scared

A little man can experience a variety of fears: be afraid of a strong thunder, a big dog, stranger, dark room...

It is not uncommon for the parents themselves to serve as a source of fear: “If you don’t sleep, a gray top will come and bite the barrel”; “if you don’t obey, the evil uncle / aunt will take it away”, “if you don’t put on a hat, you will get sick”, etc.

Paul is in trouble if the fear is limited. In case children's fears last for a long time and poison the child's life, urgent action must be taken.

Signs of intense fright and tormenting fear:

screams in sleep (frequent and prolonged),
sleep disorder,
enuresis,
poor appetite,
depressed mood, irritability, outbursts of anger, anger,
recurring headaches, abdominal pain, nervous tics, joint pain,
repetitive movements (tugging the earlobe, twisting the hair, etc.),
cheating loved ones.

Causes of nightmares in children

The source of a child's nightmare can be any of the reasons listed below.

Psychological.

Psycho emotional condition expectant mother:

psychologists have proven that pregnancy, childbirth and the first weeks of life can serve as the beginning of the child's fears and nightmares, which find their splash during the development and growth of the baby.

Therefore, the emotional state of a pregnant woman is of decisive importance for the psyche of the unborn child, because the fetus has been experiencing her emotions together with her mother since 6 weeks.

Postponed car accident, surgery.

Unfavorable atmosphere in the family: quarrels between parents, showdown between them, divorce, very strict upbringing, abuse of family members, absence, punishment.

Lack of contact with peers, failure to receive the necessary psychological support from communicating with them.

Chronic overwork, nervous exhaustion due to emotional overstrain:

the child spends a lot of time at the computer and TV, experiences physical and mental overload.

Stress on admission kindergarten, school.

Age-related fears, aggravated in a locked or dark room (fear of darkness, closed space, loneliness).

Watching horror films, disaster films, television news at night.

Organic.

Violations in the health of the baby: improper functioning of the heart and blood vessels, shortness of breath, fever, adenoids, enuresis, and more.

Full bladder can also be manifested by fears and nightmares at night.

The upcoming SARS with terrible dreams about two days before the obvious illness.

Food.

Changed diet.

Heavy and spicy dishes in the second half of the day.

The main resources of the brain are directed to the processing and breakdown of such products, which makes the baby's brain work in emergency mode. As a result, when immersed in sleep, the stage of nervous inhibition does not go through, which provokes a violation of the child’s sleep.

Sleep-wake pattern disturbed.

There are no sleep rituals.

Child at an indefinite time of day.

Outdoor games and emotional arousal before bedtime.

How to overcome nightmares in a child

Faced with a situation where your toddler has nightmares, you don't have to lose your temper. Do not show that you are also scared and upset, convince him that there is no danger.

Calmness and confidence will help you and your child in difficult situation. First of all, try to define possible cause childhood nightmare (list above).

Try to reconnect with your baby.

Limit aggressive environments s on the child's psyche: watching TV; computer games; cartoons that irritate the psyche; presence at home "showdowns" (children should be isolated from the disagreements of their parents).

Normalize your sleep and rest patterns. Create conditions for the baby so that he goes to bed at a constant time.

They serve as excellent helpers for healthy sleep. Be sure to enter them, they will become a talisman of sleep and support in difficult times for life.

Pay attention to the health of your son/daughter.

Soul Support. Do not leave the little man alone before going to bed, stay close until he falls asleep, read a fairy tale, surround him with care and affection.

Kiss your child at night, express your love to him. Let him feel needed and protected.

If you feel like the kid is ready to discuss his nightmare, listen carefully and with him try to "decipher" a terrible dream.

Offer to draw the heroes of the dream and what happened to them. Make the story funny. And then tear the drawing into small pieces: this action will convince the child that the nightmare has been destroyed, which means it will not return.

Phytotherapy- a great helper in the fight against childhood nightmares. Before going to bed, a child can be given warm infusions of soothing herbs: lemon balm, chamomile, calendula, etc. (be sure to study the contraindications before taking it!).

Relaxing outdoor walks, relaxing warm bath, interesting tale before going to bed, intimate conversation - will provide a good relaxing effect,.

moderate exercise, regular morning exercises, also help healthy sleep. Fill your baby's day with interesting outdoor games, positive impressions.

Discussing dreams with your child help find the cause of the nightmare. Somnologists say that the terrible dreams of children indicate that they are learning to deal with fears, find solutions to problems, and gain experience of living in reality.

Parental support is very important along the way, their duty is to help the baby perceive the environment adequately.

Evening reading of fairy tales- useful not only for children, but also for adults. Reading a fairy tale before going to bed creates a transitional mood of the child's consciousness from reality to magical journeys in the world of dreams. And it helps parents to calm down and distract from pressing problems.

Baby doesn't want to sleep because behind the closet is a monster, a bear or someone else. Give your child what he needs most at the moment - PROTECTION. Arm yourself with a vacuum cleaner, a broom, a mop and “kick out” this miracle Yudo. And of course with the participation of the crumbs!

Nightmare Diary. If horrors visit your child more than once, then in overcoming this misfortune there will be a diary in which attentive parents must record the events that preceded the nightmare.

Having caught the consequences of bad dreams from certain incidents (communication with unpleasant peers / educators / teachers, failure in kindergarten / school), you can write a scenario for a successful dream in which the child wins in a problem situation.

Ask your son / daughter to draw what he dreamed about and draw a happy development of the plot.

If persistent nightmares happen with cries of horror, they require a particularly attentive attitude of parents, turning to doctors for comprehensive assistance, including brain research and polysomnography.

Summary

When faced with childhood nightmares, don't lose your temper. Try to establish an atmosphere of goodwill and safety in the family.

Give your child the most important thing - and the reliability of the world around him. Look for the cause of the nightmare and eliminate it. And remember: positive emotions, love and support of parents are the best components for the development of a free creative personality.

The theme of childhood nightmares is complex and topical. Today we touched on only a part of the topical issues:

why do kids have nightmares, their nature and reasons, what parents should do, how to help the little man cope with night terrors.

In the following publications:

what, as they manifest themselves, the correct behavior of parents during bouts of night terrors, recipes for effective disposal of this scourge.
can cause a child's nightmares.

Night terrors are very common and can include fears of intruders, monsters, unexplained sounds, and darkness. In this article, I cover the following:

the evolutionary basis of childhood fears;
why children may not be biologically ready to cope with fears on their own;
how to help them overcome their fears and anxieties.

If your baby suffers from nightmares or screams, check out this article, it will come in handy.

Night terrors in an evolutionary and cross-cultural perspective

If you are reading this because your child has night terrors, he is lucky in at least one respect: you know it. In a study of Dutch children, over 73% of children aged 4 to 12 said they experienced fear at night (Muris et al 2001). Another study of Australian toddlers reported that more than 64% of children aged 8 to 16 experienced night anxiety or fear (Gordon et al., 2007).

In both cases, many parents were unaware of their children's problems. Why do they report night terrors? And why do some parents lose control? Perhaps the answer has to do with the practice of sleeping alone. In most places around the world, small children sleep with other people. But in some western countries they have to spend the night by themselves.

Does solitary sleep make children more skittish? It would be surprising if co-sleeping with parents did not reduce separation anxiety, a panic response that originates from a primitive part of the brain that also processes information about physical pain (Panskepp 2000).

It makes sense that children find separation at night especially unsettling. For over 99% of human history, our fathers lived as hunter-gatherers. Among these ancestors, children left alone at night would be extremely vulnerable to predators. Leaving the kids in the evening meant rejection and (possibly) death. Fear has evolved to keep toddlers close to adults.

Few modern children have to worry about being attacked by predators. But the fear trend remains, and some little ones can't tell fantasy from reality. As a result, they have more night terrors (Zisenwine 2012) and sleeping alone makes the situation worse. In a study of more than 900 Quebec children as young as two years old, Valerie Simard and colleagues found that toddlers who slept in their mothers' beds suffered from nightmares in later years (Simard et al 2008).

The correlation is suggestive, but not definitive. You need to take nightly fears and anxieties seriously. Although the children in the Australian study were selected from the general population (as opposed to a psychiatric practice or sleep clinic), the researchers found that about 10% of children complaining of night terrors met the criteria for an anxiety disorder.

A study by Simar and colleagues reports strong links between anxiety and bad dreams. Seventeen-month-olds who were rated as anxious, difficult, or emotionally excitable by their mothers were more likely than other children to have bad dreams over a 29-month period (Simard et al 2008).

Researchers suggest depressed or anxious children pose a greater risk for chronic nightmares and other psychological problems. If parents take their children's fears seriously at an early age, they will help them avoid emotional issues later in life.

Toddlers who suffer from nightmares have trouble sleeping.

Finally, we must keep in mind that everyone tends to overreact to emotional stimuli at the end of the day. Observations show that the amygdala, an area of the brain that responds to emotional events, becomes more active when you are tired (Yoo et al., 2007; Maski and Kothar 2013). For us at night negative emotions may come naturally.

Why do children need help to overcome night terrors

Adults find it difficult to deal with fear and anxiety. When parents go to bed feeling lonely, scared, sad, or out of control, the next day they have elevated level cortisol (stress hormone) (Adam et al 2006).

It must be the same with the child.

To successfully cope with night terrors and anxiety about separate sleep, the baby needs to

a well-developed sense of time (“when will I see my mother again?”);
the ability to control emotional impulses;
the ability to distinguish fiction from reality;
the ability to consciously reason and trust rational exceptions rather than misleading sensory information (“this shadow on the floor may look like a monster, but I know it’s really a pile of clothes”).

Most children do not develop these abilities until the age of 5 or 6. This is when the frontal lobes begin to mature (Eliot 2000). They allow us to reason, solve problems, and plan for the future. They also help us decide what to do with the strange emotions we feel. The consequences seem clear. When frightened toddlers and preschoolers are left alone, they don't know how to calm down. And even after children develop the ability to reason about their emotions, they cannot be expected to invent personal effective methods fight fear.

Moreover, some children are inherently more timid than others. These little ones may not be physiologically ready when they have to face their own fears. A child with a high fever tends to have a higher heart rate and higher levels of stress hormones. They show significant brain activity in the right frontal lobe, where fears and anxieties are processed (Eliot 2000). Animal studies suggest that the amygdala, the brain structure responsible for fear, is more sensitive in shy children (Fox et al 2005, Eliot 2000). These babies can learn to be less fearful, but for this they need sensitive, gentle encouragement from their parents.

What is the point?

Children need help to cope with night terrors and they need a helper who takes into account their stage of development and individual character. They need someone to convince them, provide them with a sense of security, and teach them how to overcome their fears. In short, babies need flexible, rational development.

Helping Children Manage Night Terrors: A Checklist

Always ask for advice on parenting toddlers who are restless when left alone at night. As noted above, they do not have the ability to figure it out on their own. (France and Blampied 1999; Owens et al 1999).
Talk to the children about the difference between fantasy and reality, prove to them that there is no monster in the closet. As noted above, some have difficulty distinguishing between fantasy and reality, and may be at higher risk for night terrors (Zisenwine et al 2012).
Consider sources of daily stress. Children who suffer from anxiety at school, separation from parents or other problems are more likely to be afraid of the dark and sleep alone (Gregory and Eley 2005). You can reduce your child's nighttime fears by helping him deal with daytime stress.
Check your sleep conditions and schedule. Sometimes parents incorrectly determine how much sleep their children need. As a result, they are sent to bed long before they can fall asleep. Those left in the dark have more time to fall into the grip of night terrors (Ferber 1995).
Avoid scary TV shows, stories, and images - especially before bed. This includes the passive exposure that occurs when your child is present while watching potentially disturbing material on television. A recent study found that 5-6 year olds exposed to adult TV programming, including the evening news, slept less and experienced more sleep disturbances (Paavonen et al 2006).
Fight with the power of touch. Physical contact (stroking, cuddling) disables sleep separation anxiety (Panskepp 2006).
Offer baby for comfort soft toy animal or doll. There is experimental evidence that this old way really works. The effect was observed when the toy was presented as an intercessor or as a being in need of protection (Kushnir and Sade 2012).
Try to be patient. If your child's night terrors are depriving you of sleep, it's natural to feel resentment. But it's important not to direct anger or annoyance at your child. If the baby feels rejected, this will only increase his anxiety about separation and worsen the situation.
React quickly to nightmares. Reassure your little one that the fear was not real, and explain that everyone has horrors sometimes. The sooner you remove the effects of a bad dream, the sooner he can fall asleep again.
Provide your child with night light. Find a floor lamp that gives off a soft, warm, rather than blue-tinted light. The latter inhibits the formation of melatonin in the brain and thus may prevent your child from feeling sleepy (Glaze 2004).
Be a calm, confident demeanor. When the baby comes to you in a frightened state, be warm, sensitive and responsive. Say that you understand him, and that sometimes everyone gets scared. But don't let empathy turn into overprotectiveness. Many animals, from birds to monkeys, are sensitive to social cues about fear (Zentall and Galef 1988). If your baby notices that you are worried, he may become more skittish.
Show your child how to relax. For example, when you comfort a crying baby, show your breathing exercises(Jay et al 1987). This appears to reduce anxiety in 40% of toddlers.
Counteract fearful thoughts with images of happiness, safety, and courage. When he is afraid, help your child think of situations that make him feel happy and confident. For example, you can encourage him to imagine that he is playing with his favorite pet. You may also have an excuse to convince the child that he is brave. This method was used in the study mentioned above (Jay et al., 1987).
Teach coping skills through role-playing. Many children overcome their fear of medical exams by playing doctor. You can apply this approach to night terrors as well. During the daytime, talk about your child's fears and discuss how he can deal with them. Support practicing the tactics mentioned above by thinking of happy moments by telling yourself that the person is brave; rehearse relaxation techniques and turn frightening imaginary creatures into something silly and non-threatening. Then try to play a small role (Jay et al 1987). If you have another adult or older child to help out, you can both play the part of the frightened toddler and the brave parent. The father or mother shows how to face his nocturnal fears, and the child tries these ways. After the demonstration, ask him to play the role of the comforting adult.
During the daytime, create stories with your child in which the main character (favorite fictional character) learns to overcome his nighttime fears. This technique, called story desensitization, is designed to make babies less skittish. (King et al 2001). Start by telling a story that doesn't have scary elements. Then type in something that's a little scary. For example, if your child is afraid of spiders, you can add a very small, non-threatening insect (which keeps its distance from the hero) to the story. The daredevil responds by successfully practicing the fear management techniques mentioned above. If this story does not upset your child, you can increase the scary element in the next story - perhaps by bringing the spider closer. Thus, you can gradually get rid of the fear of the baby.
If your child suffers from severe night terrors, please consult a doctor or licensed therapist. Recent studies show that children with nighttime problems often suffer from a variety of issues during the day, including anxiety, impulsivity, and abnormal attention (Kushnir et al., 2014). The specialist can recommend a support program tailored to your child's individual needs.

In the first half of the night, during sleep, the child burst into tears very much. What is the cause and how to react? If pain is excluded, then two main causes remain: night terror or nightmare. Let's see what it is and how to behave as parents?

What is a nightmare?

Let's start with a more understandable and simple case, this is a nightmare or bad sleep, which often happens in the second half of the night, in the morning, in the stage of REM sleep. The child remembers this dream, tries to tell his mother about such trouble, seeks protection. Such dreams occur in children aged from two years, the peak of such dreams falls on the age of three.

What can cause a nightmare in a baby?

Possible reasons most often lie in reading incomprehensible, frightening books, watching cartoons, intimidating a child with Baba Yaga and other characters, overwork, any stressful situations during the day, even pleasant ones, the introduction of vitamins in the afternoon.

What to do if the baby has a nightmare?

The actions of parents with nightmares in a child are as follows:

You need to go to the crib immediately

Calm down, give a little water

To assure that the child is not alone, but it was just a dream that itself disappeared

It is necessary to be nearby until the baby falls asleep completely.

It is very important not to give vitamins before bedtime, to monitor signs of fatigue, the quality and quantity of sleep, to read familiar, understandable fairy tales before bedtime and not to overexcite the child in the afternoon.

What is night terror?

Parents are very frightened when, two to three hours after the child falls asleep, they hear a sharp cry, the baby is rushing about, the heart is ready to jump out of the chest, the child is all wet with sweat, breathes heavily and often, can throw things, even hurting himself, his eyes can be are wide open, but the child does not recognize the parents, says something incomprehensible. This is night terror or terror. You can often find someone from close relatives who also spent the first half of the night violently in childhood, i.e. we can talk about genetic predisposition. Night terrors are the most common in children older than 3 years and pass by the age of six or seven. Parents notice during an attack, as if their baby was changed, he does not look like himself, does something completely incomprehensible.

What causes episodes of night terrors in children?

The reason for this altered state is the hovering between sleep and wakefulness at the moment of exiting the deep sleep phase. We all partially wake up at this moment, but in children, due to the greatest intensity of deep sleep, this transition from phase to phase does not always go smoothly.

What should parents do when their child has a night terror episode?

It’s hard enough to wake the child at this moment, it’s impossible to influence his actions, so try not to touch, don’t wake the baby, this state goes away after a while (10-15 minutes) in the morning don’t ask about what happened, firstly, it’s useless - the child he will not remember anything, and secondly, such a story can scare him.

You can try to eliminate the causes of night fear, namely, eliminate overwork, lack of sleep, laying too late, abrupt regime change. Sometimes attacks of night terror occur due to increased body temperature and the use of certain medicines. If you are already familiar with a similar situation, attacks occur with some frequency and at approximately the same time, then wake the child up 15-20 minutes before the expected episode, which will help him move from phase to phase without fear. Do this for one to two weeks. Sometimes by knocking down the sleep cycle, you can save the child from night terror.

The basic rule for parents if a child has night terror attacks is to create a safe environment in the bedroom and bed (because usually by the time the first episode of night terror the child is already sleeping in his bed without bumpers and bars). The child does not understand what is happening, cannot control himself, therefore, adults take on the role of external control: without touching, without waking the baby, they do so that the child does not harm himself. Perhaps for the first time it will be scary and incomprehensible to you, but after reading this article, you will be able to see in your tomboy at night just a little monster who cannot sleep further, but this will pass.

The term "nightmares" refers to repeated episodes of fear, aggression and other dysphoric emotions. A child in this state jumps out of bed with a scream, crying, an expression of horror, vegetative reactions, his eyes are open, but he does not react to the environment, cannot formulate the cause of fears. In most cases, episodes of nightmares are sporadic, but the need to exclude organic causes, the painful condition of the child and the whole family require a serious attitude to these conditions, without references to "mommy, the child will outgrow."
Possible reasons. Two phases of sleep are known: the period of rapid (REM) and slow (non-REM) movement of the eyeballs. REM and non-REM periods alternate every 90-100 minutes. During the REM period, EEG activity is close to the daytime pattern. In older children and adults, non-REM accounts for 75% of all sleep. Night terrors associated with bad dreams are registered during the REM period in the second half of the night. Night fears are largely explainable (stress, stress), the child wakes up and reacts to the environment. He can talk about what bothered him, for example, a bad dream. Moreover, the child can tell what he saw in a dream: a monster, a terrible animal, an evil person, etc. Night terrors are periodically recorded in 2-11% of children.
Night terrors (“night terror”) are less common (in 1-6% of children), occur during the non-REM period, proceed violently, with vegetative reactions (for example, sweating), it is extremely difficult to wake such children during this period, in memory causes do not persist, episodes are accompanied by a feeling of weakness. The first episodes of nightmares are usually recorded at the age of 3-6 years, the maximum frequency - at 10-12 years (night terrors - at 7-9 years). At a younger age, the frequency of night terrors and nightmares in boys and girls is the same. In senior childhood Night terrors are more common in boys (as opposed to night terrors). As the nervous system matures, the frequency of nightmares decreases to 1%.
In 7% of cases, nightmares ("night terror") are recorded in a family history. The association of nightmares and sleepwalking (the latter is associated with the HLADQ-B1 haplotype) with frontal epilepsy has been documented.
Possible precipitating factors are general stress, school problems, family conflicts, prolonged sleep deprivation, chronic illness, fever, full bladder, airway obstruction, alcohol, nicotine, psychostimulants.
clinical picture. Night terrors are more often recorded in timid, neurotic children and adolescents, usually in the first 1-3 hours after falling asleep (as opposed to night terrors, which are noted in the second half of the night). The child suddenly begins to scream in a dream, move, jump up, eyes may be wide open, cries are incoherent. The reaction to the environment is weak, attempts to wake up are unsuccessful. It is impossible to recall these episodes in the future. Often recorded tachycardia, rapid breathing, sweating.
The criteria for diagnosis are:
. repeated episodes of abrupt awakening with panic reactions in the first third of the night;
. disorientation, poor response to awakening attempts;
. inability to remember a nightmare episode during the day (in children younger age) or incomplete understanding of it (in adolescents and adults);
. lack of significant association with medications or diseases.
In our opinion, night terrors and nightmares are more common in children after hypoxic disorders in childbirth, concussion, attention deficit disorder and motor agitation, neurotic parents, hyperprotection.
Differential diagnosis is carried out with acute stress disorders, hallucinations, apnea periods, nocturnal cramps, panic attacks, restless legs syndrome, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and other neurological and mental disorders.
Additional studies (EEG, polysomnography, imaging techniques, Holter monitoring of the heart rate, biochemical tests, etc.) are necessary only to exclude possible somatic and neurological disorders that occur under the guise of nightmares. There is no specific test for nightmares ("night terror").
Treatment. First of all, the restoration of the regime, the removal of excitation before going to bed, the rejection of noisy games, as well as the exclusion of traumatic situations and the regulation of family and school relations, if necessary - with the help of a psychologist. It is necessary to treat conditions that provoke night terrors or nightmares: adenoids, broncho-obstructive syndrome, somatic diseases, anxiety syndrome. It is recommended to limit computer games, watching television programs, exercise is useful, stay in the fresh air.
In severe cases, according to special indications, tricyclic antidepressants, nootropic drugs are prescribed. Therapy with these drugs is rarely used. In broad clinical practice, more physiological preparations, in particular derivatives of aminobutyric acid, have come to the fore.
Aminophenylbutyric acid hydrochloride (Anvifen) is known as such a drug. Anvifen is a drug that combines a tranquilizing effect with a nootropic (improving cognitive functions) effect, it has antiplatelet, antioxidant and some anticonvulsant effects; improves the functional state of the brain by normalizing its metabolism and affecting cerebral blood flow. When taking a course, it increases physical and mental performance (attention, memory, speed and accuracy of sensory-motor reactions); reduces the manifestations of asthenia (improves well-being, increases interest and initiative (activity motivation)) without sedation or arousal; helps to reduce feelings of anxiety, tension and anxiety, normalizes sleep. All this is the rationale for the use of Anvifen in children experiencing stress reactions at school and at home, with overload and sleep disorders. The drug is available in encapsulated form and has a unique children's dosage of 50 mg of the active ingredient in one capsule.
According to our preliminary data, in 15 children aged 5-7 years, when Anvifen was prescribed for sleep disorders, general anxiety, night fears, a significant improvement was noted. After a 2-week course, nocturnal awakenings stopped, appetite improved, the children became calmer, and the process of preparing homework was easier.
Thus, night terrors and nightmares are a common condition in childhood and adolescence. Exclusion of the primary disease is required, after which the task of treatment becomes completely pediatric. Correction of the mode, psychological climate is recommended. Anvifen has a positive effect on children's anxiety, anxiety, night terrors.

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