I think that my daughter has nightmares.

Question

My daughter will wake up at least 2-3 times a night freaking out. She is crying and sometimes shaking and her heart will race. She is almost 2 and has started to tell me that she is scared sometimes. Or the next day she will say that she was scared last night. It is obvious that she was startled when she woke. Is she having nightmares or maybe just hearing something? How can i help her out and try to keep her from getting scared at night.

Answer 1

this could be night terrors. have your pediatrician talk with her and see if a child psychologist can help. Something is scaring her and she needs to talk about it so it doesnt seem as scarry any more. Has she fallen recently? a change in routine or schedule? any new people in her life? all of these things could cause nighmares. I hate to even mention this, but children will have nightmares due to sexual abuse, be sure you explore the idea. talk with her about good and bad touches. It's never too early.

Answer 2

It is totally possible that she is having nightmares.  Does she have a nightlight?  A stuffed animal or some other "lovey" to sleep with?  A special blankie?  Is she still in a crib?  Maybe she would like a crib soother or a glow worm....I know that those are usually for babies but my son (who is also almost two) has a seahorse glow worm that he pushes all the time when he wakes up at night.  It has a light and music.

If they are nightmares I think the best you can do is go in there to comfort her and assure her that everything is okay.  Also maybe you could see if there are any kid books that talk about having scary dreams or being scared at night....ones that reassure her that its okay.

Answer 3

i would give her water or somthing at night or put a monitor in her room and see wut she does  

Answer 4

My son used to have a lot of nightmares. Every night before bed, we would go around the whole room and make sure nothing was there. Then we would get our can of "Monster Repellant" (a squirt bottle of water) and spray the monsters away. It sounds silly, but it really worked. Good luck.

Answer 5

i can't tell you how to stop her from getting scared at night but i can tell you some of the reasons she could be getting scared.  watching television shows that you may not even think she is paying attention to. arguments between children or grown-ups. my daughter came home from her grandparents house saying something i did not understand and i didn't think anything about it until i went to pick her up one weekend and i heard her grandma say it. grandma was teasing granddad about how she was gonna "kick your A##" just playing with him in another room but my two year old heard her and said it at home...the little ones pick up on more than you think and things you don't worry about could be the problem. my twelve year old watches cartoons with monsters and stuff...it took me a while to figure it out, but when i stopped letting my two year old watch them with him, she stopped waking up at night crying and calling for me.

good luck.