The night terrors occur in many children, but in healthy ones they occur infrequently. If the fears continue for many nights in a row – this is an excuse to visit a doctor.

The cause of the fears can be the anxiety, the separation, the restless relationships in the family, but most often they are associated with the psychological problems.

It has been observed that the night terrors, like the somnambulism, are a hereditary disease. In ninety-six percent of the cases, the baby’s parents also suffered from them.

The attacks of the night terrors often occur after a severe illness, accompanied by a high temperature, as well as during the period of the neurotic adulthood.

Is it possible to prevent the appearance of the night terrors and whether they need to be treated?

It turns out that the prevention of the night terrors is possible. It consists in providing the child with sufficient sleep time. If the child sleeps as much as it should, his sleep becomes calmer, more even, and the night fears are almost absent.

If the night terrors are very intense, the doctor can prescribe the medication. This is usually done only when the sleep disturbance is caused by some disease like epilepsy, the mental disorder, the brain tumor, etc. But even in this case, the disease that is the cause of the night terrors is treated. For a healthy child, the best prevention is to create an atmosphere of the peace and the love in the family. It will not be long before he “outgrows” all his night terrors.

Here are some tips on how to put the child to sleep so that his sleep was calm and he was not tormented by the night terrors and the nightmares.

First of all, take care of the silence in the house. When the baby goes to bed, the apartment should not be too noisy. Turn down the volume of the TV or the tape recorder and avoid the loud conversations.

Before going to bed, the child’s psyche needs peace of mind: the noisy games and the loud laughter are unacceptable. Occupy him with the toys, looking at the pictures, drawing, or tell him some good stories.

If the baby has a brother or a sister, they should learn not to interfere with each other’s sleep. In the extreme cases, try to put them in the different rooms.

You should create such the conditions that the child was comfortable and pleasant to sleep. The room should not be stuffy and too warm. Set the night light so that the child can turn on the light without getting out of bed. The bed should be large enough and not too soft (= the excessive softness contributes to the development of the scoliosis – curvature of the spine).

A child usually falls asleep faster if he goes to bed not alone, but in the company of his favorite toys.

It is also worth recalling that a full stomach can also lead to bad sleep and, as a result, to the appearance of the nightmares. Therefore, do not overfeed the child at night, a light dinner two hours before bedtime is enough.

 

To maintain a good sleep, you can recommend following a certain “ritual” of putting to bed. Talk to your child, tell him the story that is sure to end well, sing the lullaby, and say that you love him. Thus the baby calms down and when observing such “the ritual” from day to day very quickly falls asleep and his sleep at the same time remains calm.

 

When a child reaches the age of three or four, he is often at the mercy of irrational fears. The baby is afraid to stay in the dark, afraid to fall asleep, so it seems to him that in a dream he will certainly appear monsters, requires that in his bedroom was one of the adults. He can start crying every time he hears the word “sleep”.

How to act in this case?

You do not need to prove to the child that all his fears are unreal; he still will not understand anything from your explanations. Better firmly tell the child that nothing bad can happen to him. If he is afraid of the dark, leave the light on. If you think that bright light prevents your baby from falling asleep, turn on the small night light.

Sometimes, after the baby falls asleep, he experiences a phenomenon called hypnagogic illusions. The child has unpleasant and disturbing the physical sensations. It seems to him that he falls into the void or that he is attacked by a monster, etc. At the same time, he shudders violently.

Such the illusions occur in a semi-conscious state and have the negative consequences, as they remain in the memory, and the next day the baby is afraid to go to bed, because it seems that the horrors will surely repeat.

 

Talk to your child about their fears. At the same time, remember that telling about them, the kid does not separate the imaginary from the real. Therefore, if he is afraid of monsters, do not pretend that you have killed them, because this only confirms the reality of his fears. Better, without denying that his fears are true, soften the drama of the situation: tell him that everything is all right, that he is safe, and you are there and will come to help if anything happens.

 

How to overcome the fear?

 

As it has already mentioned, almost every child has the fears and the nightmares. At the same time, they are not yet an indicator that the baby’s nervous system is shaken or that his health is not in order. But in any case, the fears and the nightmares are a negative phenomenon and your task is to help the child quickly cope with them. How to do that?

First of all, establish close contact with the baby, he must trust you and believe that you love him. Calmness of the child is promoted by normal intra-family relations. Even if it is impossible to completely eliminate conflicts in the family, find out the relationship only when the baby is not around, and with him stick to a consistently smooth and affectionate tone. At the same time, remember that the attention and understanding of the father for the child is no less important than a friendly relationship with the mother. Your correct actions will ease his tense state and will contribute to the fact that he will stop being afraid.

But what if the fears remain? Is it necessary to contact the specialists? If the child is not sick, it is possible to neutralize them at home. For this purpose, a special program has been developed, which is offered to your attention.