My son sleepwalks and wants to sleep in a tent outside?

Question

My 9 almost 10 year old sleep walks often. I have become used to it. It was strange to me at first and if someone who hasn't seen it (which has happened recently) they think it is really freaky. He will get up and look awake, but you can't talk to him or get him to make sense. He looks awake, but I can tell in his eyes that he's not. He will walk in circles or away from the bed and back again and he mumbles about things not being right or something bad happened. Please, don't say something happened to him because it hasn't. I am always with him. My question is some boys in the neighborhood want to "camp out" and I won't let him. He is getting mad with me because, the boys like to do this and I will never let him. What do you know about sleepwalking? I'm afraid he will wander off. One time when we were traveling I awoke to him trying to walk out of our hotel room. He actually unlocked the door in his sleep, but I put the bolt on and found him at the door looking dumbfounded. We have a pool and he always wants to stay in the pool house, but I won't let him. He thinks once he hits the water he would wake up if he were to walk into it. When do you think this will end? Does sleepwalking have a cure. I do have an appt with our Dr. coming up, but he is really pushing this camping out issue. I'm not giving in, but I would love to hear you experiences.

Answer 1

after he goes into the tent, zip the tent shut and put a lock on it on the outside, so he cant sleepwalk out of it... then in the morning tell him to cell phone u to come open it up.

Answer 2

You are in a pickle!

First off, to the people advising you to "lock" him in the tent, are you kidding me? Anything could happen and the last thing you want is him locked in a tent.

I would just explain to him, that it isn't the safest idea and tell him you are trying to come up with a way for him to have a "camp out".

What about if you have it at your house and then you also sleep outside in another tent that way you are close by.

Answer 3

I can't answer your exact question, but I wanted to say I happened to see a piece on TV tonight about the fact that 60% of sleepwalkers have an underlying sleep disorder, and that removal of tonsils and adenoids solves the problem in some cases.  I'll see if I can find the info on the internet and put it in the sources for you.  Maybe it will help?

Answer 4

Your son is at the age he wants to do what other young boys does, and he really can not understand why he can't,you could two different things for your son, t be able to be [just-one -of-the-boys]!1.) you could let him go outside in the tent, you could tie him to the stake in the tent,so he could not wander off, or #2.) you could give him a cell phone in the tent, put him in the tent, tell him you are going to zip up the tent, so he'll stay in the tent for the evening, and he is to call you in the a.m. when he wants to come out!This way, he wouldn't begin to get a complex about his sleep-walkng, and he possibly could do as young men his age does, and yes, mam, he'll grow out of it, you see when he's asleep, his sub-conscious takes over, and whatever he did a few hours before, starts to re-live whatever it was he did,he saw, he wanted to do, but didn't for whatever reason, so his body(sub-conscious) takes over-when he's asleep, and starts to do whatever he started to do, and didn't.In other words mam, his mind never shuts off, there is a medication,Zoloft that can be given to your son,that will calm his mind down, so he can rest, sleep,[my son had this sleep disorder and his pediatrician gave him Zoloft, which calmed his sub-scious down for him to really sleep(a good night sleep) finally!Mam, whatever you do, when he is sleep walking NEVER TRY TO WAKE HIM UP!You'll kill him, just watch him, and if he starts to go a direction that will hurt him, JUST BARELY TURN INTO ANOTHER DIRECTION!His sub-sciousness is different than when you're awake, the shock of waking him up, could shock the heart too much, and it could kill him, that's what the doctors told me about Timmy (my son).That was when Tim was 10 or 11, mam Tim is now 24 yrs.old, and he no longer walks in his sleep.