Why is my son doing this?!?!?!?

Question

For the last few days my son (almost 4 years old) has been waking up a few times a night and he just sits there shaking and starts crying, and wont tell me whats wrong. Other times he yells out right before he sits up shaking.

Is he having nightmares? or growing pains because sometimes he says it hurts. This has only started since my husband left for NTC training for the month (army). Could this have anything to do with it? If anyone has gone through this i would appreciate the insight! Thanks so much!

Answer 1

It could be that he knows what is going on.  If you watch any thing about war at home even just movies maybe he is afraid that will happen to his daddy, even though he is only going into training.  Small children just like animals can tell when something is up.  He could be getting mixed signals somehow and thing that he may not be coming back.  As for the part about him saying that it hurt,  it could be a dream with feeling a nightmare is a bad dream without being able move of feel the dream.  Some people call it a nights tare I don't know why they call it that but you can move around and also feel the dream as opposed to a nightmare where you can't move or feel at all.  Maybe try letting him sleep with you a few times and see what happens, if that fails ask his doctor about it maybe even a couns.  Good luck to you both.

Answer 2

If he is close to your husband then it could very well be that he is having bad dreams because his daddy is gone and he thinks his daddy is going to get hurt? And the hurting could be from him thrashing in his sleep. Maybe if you lay with him until he falls asleep he might do better at night? or you can even give him something of his daddy's that he can sleep with... even if it is not because your hubby is gone maybe that still might help him at night.

Answer 3

It sounds like stress induced night terrors. Talk with your child's health care professional.

Answer 4

Since it the trigger seems to be daddy leaving perhaps investing in a web cam would be a good idea. Have your husband record messages on video and send them to your house, or live web cams, that way your son would have physical evidence that daddy is doing well, I think that would benefit both your 4 year old and daddy too. Worth a shot! Also, my son also almost 4 gets to sleep in daddies spot whenever he is gone, makes both of us sleep better without daddy in the house.

Answer 5

It could be nightmares, or more usually 'night terrors' which have no specific actual 'dream' quality. These could have been triggered by increased anxiety over daddy going away. If he won't tell you what's wrong, it's probably because he doesn't know. Just offer plenty of reassurance. I am sure it will pass. If you think he is in pain, then get this checked out.

Look at http://kidshealth.org/parent/general/ach... which explains growing pains. I do hope your son settles soon. Good luck.

Answer 6

it sounds like hes having alot of stress because his dad is away