My Little Boy Wakes up in a Dream, and Doesn't Know He Is Awake!

It sounds like "night terrors". It is common and usually they grow out of them or they get less frequent. My daughter used to have them --she is 6 now. She has one once in a while. Itis like they are awake, completely freaked and then goes back
to sleep. They try to shut their eyes,and the terror is still there. Just stay calm . try to rub his back and let it just stop on its own. It is normal -- my doctor said they will grow out of them.

Look up "night terror" on google. My 10 month old had what you described but only once so far. I found out it can be hereditary (and after talking to my MIL that my husband had them as well.) They can also be from lack of sufficient sleep according to the net. Hope this helps.
Sincerely,
E.

My daughter had this for awhile too- the pediatrician said they grow out of it- it's called night terrors. Good luck!

PS- when we would ask our daughter about it the next day, she never remembered them.

I agree that it is night terrors. We dealt with this with our daughter. We were told to wake her up about an hour or two after she had gone to sleep. It interrupts the sleep cycle and disrupts the pattern, preventing the night terror. It did work. After a couple of weeks of doing this, we eased off and she didn't have them anymore. They recur every once in awhile, when some major change happens in her life, but we just start waking her up again. Do not try to wake him up during the night terror - that is useless and just frustrates everyone. Try what I have told you - I know it sounds silly, but it worked for us. Above all, don't worry. It will pass.

S.,
Don't panic it is probably just night terrors. Both of my older children went through it, it is a little scary but they usually grow out of it. I was completely freaked the first time it happened. Try just rubbing his back and making soothing sounds. Sometimes trying to hold them to comfort makes it worse.
Good Luck! I promise it will get better.
Dee

I saw this on a 20/20 show or a documentary a long time ago. It happens with children and adults. I forgot what caused it - it's not simply nightmares. They called it "Night Terrors". Go to http://www.nightterrors.org/ to read more about it. The site may help you determine if this is what your son is going through and how to go about treating it. It will also make you feel better to learn that it is more common that you'd think.

A thing that could help is playing music (classical or sleep music that you can probably find at a music store) when he goes to bed and while he sleeps. It will help him relaxe his mind and hopfully help his mind relaxe. During the day they might see something or hear something that is on there mind and with that being the last thing of his mind when he goes to bed, it is possible for him to dream about it. It will also heip adults relaxe aswell. You wont fall asleep dreaming of bills and stress.

It's night terrors. My little boy had them when he was 18 months. He's 2 1/2 and hasn't had one for about 6 months. It's a hormonal imbalance that affects the brain when they are sleeping. Nothing you can do...they will outgrow it. My nephew had them too, although he was a little older - if they are potty trained, put them on the toilet and make them pee...this will wake them up.

This happened to one of my twins. They are definitely not awake. It's called night terrors and it's horrible for these poor little ones. Speak with your pediatrician about it and search the internet for night terrors in young children. I don't remember what we did, but she eventually out grew it. I'm sure you can find some suggestions on the internet if my "diagnosis" is correct. I have found that to be half the battle.

Good luck.

This is called night terrors. My daughter also had them. It can be really frustrating because the seem to be awake, but are not...and there is no reasoning with them. I am not sure why they happen, but your little one will outgrow them and will stop. The main thing to do is keep him safe and stay loving while he is freaking out. Good luck!

I have had a little experience with this and being a Christian I would start praying out loud for them and continue till it stopped. My mom is raising my brothers 3 kids and had this exact thing with one of them, it is called night terrors. I think it is fairly common. I would talk to your pediatrician about it. I don't believe they are awake. My parents would take my niece driving around in the car and finally she would wake up and had no idea what had happened or remembered.
Hope this helps a little. Hang in there it will go away!

That sounds like a text book example of a night terror. My step son has them even though he is 13 now. Apparantly he had them as a small child as well but they have gotten better and less frequent. I had never encountered anything like this until I met him and it's spooky and scary sometimes. Even though he only has night terrors about once every 5 or 6 months he still sleep walks. I wouldn't have believed it if anyone had told me about this before I saw it for myself. And what is so disconcerning is that they seem perfectly awake. I mean...who could sleep through all that screaming and thrashing!?
He still gets up and walks around the house and I've even awoke to him standing next to my husband in bed. Just staring at him. OOOH it gives me chills just thinking about it. I talked to my husband because I thought it meant they were emotionally disturbed or something. I actually asked my daughter's pediatrician about them and if I should be concerned for their safety and the doctor said depending on what he does during the terrors they are otherwise a normal occurance among children. And there is no study or sign that they indicate emotional issues! I felt relieved to hear that but I can only imagine how scary they are for you. I don't experience them much but when I do it very alarming to me. My girls have come running in the living room thinking that my husband is fighting with my step son when they happen. I can't imagine letting them "thrash it out" but I would try the waking after an hour because anything to help stop them would be worth it to me. I was never told that by my pediatrician but maybe because we don't have them very often.
Good Luck and I hope that works for you and especially for your little guy. How sad that he got hurt =(

Unfortunately your son is suffering from night terrors. My son had them for about 3 years. The only thing that you can do is try to keep him from hurting himself without getting hurt yourself. Trying to soothe him will only make the night terror last longer. If you call his name and he does not respond or he is not aware of your presence then he is having a night terror. The only way to stop the night terror is to get your child to wake up. Talk with your childs doctor to see if he/she can offer any advice.

I would go by what Candy said about waking him after and hour. I wish someone had suggested that to me. Add this because my daughter had them too but at around 4 years old but they were not so wild. She just stayed in her bed and sat up and cried and did not respond to me, but went back to sleep after about 15 to 20 minutes and didn't remember anything the next day.
If I were you since he is getting hurt so much I would put some kind of padding around the wall at his level and make sure everything is picked up he could get hurt on. If he is still in a crib I would put extra padding in that until he grows out of it. Other than that I never heard of anything to help them.

I had a friend with a child that did that and it is called night terror. They are asleep when it is happening although they act as they are awake. Talk to your dr. to see what can be done or research it on the web.

S.,
I know what you are going through, my son was and sometimes still is going through the same thing. They are called night terrors. Unfortunately, the best thing that I can advise you is to leave him alone on his bed or crib until it is over. If you pick him up it seems as though he is then fighting you and it takes him much longer to calm down. Just watch him and make sure he doesn't fall off the bed or do anything to hurt himself or anyone else.
Also, make sure that you have a routine to calm him down at least 30 minutes before putting him to bed. Like reading a story or cuddling after a bath(I use bubbles). Nothing that will stimulate him brain. I started turning the television off and it helped the situation. Although, some nights he does watch a show and then they seem to happen.
There are a few websites that I can recommend... but if you google "night terrors, children" you will see a lot of helpful and informative sites.
http://familydoctor.org/566.xml
http://pediatrics.about.com/cs/sleep/a/night_terrors.htm

I hope this helps. Good Luck.
--S.

Sounds like he's having night terrors.....I would talk to the Pediatrician about it - especially if he's injuring himself.

Good luck.

My son also had night terrors when he was a toddler. I used to sing to him this one song before bed,sometimes hum it, every single night until he was 3yrs old or so. That was just part of our bed time routine. When I shut off the light before I layed him down I'd pray with him and sing this song. When he'd wake up screaming (like you're describing) I'd sing that song and he'd gradually calm down and then go right back to sleep like it never happened. Sometimes he'd wake up.
You could try singing him one of his favorite nursery rhymes or something before bedtime quietly and then when he wakes up screaming sing that same song. Stick with the same one always and it gets in there. They remember it. That worked for us. A huge thing is to remain calm yourself. I know it's hard. My son was sleeping in our room when this went on with us because we lived in a apartment. It's scary.
Now, he's five and he hasn't had one in at least a year or so.Hope that helps.