Night Terrors

We hit the playground for a play date yesterday and found out that my daughter’s pal, who is a boy almost exactly her age–3 years 9 months–has had nightmares for about five months. Nightmares on a variety of subjects that wake him (and the whole family) 5 out of 7 nights a week, and usually result in heading to bed with mom. She’s tried the “practical approach” i.e. there are no killer dragonflies in your room, see?; the “play along approach” i.e. okay, mommy has the magic dinosaur repellent spray and now they’re all gone… and a whole lot of other tactics besides, including high powered night lights, door open, white noise, etc…

Well, she asked for any advice I might have and frankly, I had little to offer. I suggested one trick we use when traveling: A protector stuffed animal that is posted at the foot of the bed as guard. Yet Night Terrors are quite different from “afraid of the dark” or your basic nightmares, which my girl has once and a while. Besides it also seems that, unfortunately, they are already well into a habit of an interrupted sleep cycle in which the lad gets to sleep with mom more often than not (dad can’t cope with that and heads for the guest room). So part of me fears it is now self perpetuating in that way. At the same time, she says he is truly terrified, shaking, crying, etc. so that it seems he is really afraid and that they may well be actual Night Terrors. What to do? I looked this up online and it seems that her pediatrician wasn’t just blowing her off: that the “treatment” is outgrowing them. One site I saw suggested waking the child before they normally happen. Eesh. I’d welcome any suggestions we could offer this sleep deprived family.