Once your little angel falls asleep, the last thing you expect in the middle is them to wake up in a screaming fit that they can't seem to snap out of. These episodes, known as "night terrors" can happen to children of all ages without rhyme or reason. Today, Parents Ask expert Dr. Cara Natterson discusses them and offers tips on how to help a child who might be suffering from them:

Q: What are Night terrors? What are the signs/symptoms? What causes them? Is it normal for a toddler to have them? What should I do if I suspect my child is having one?



A:  Night terrors are totally normal. In young children, I think of night terrors simply as dreams. For this age group (2 year olds), they are not necessarily bad as their name implies. Think about it: when a 2 year old closes her eyes and goes to sleep, suddenly she is transported into an entirely new world with a new house or new school or possibly new friends, etc. That new world is a dream state. But the child doesn’t know that—she doesn’t know that this is not reality. And that can be terrifying. So kids will cry and scream.

When you go in to check what’s happening, the child IS ASLEEP. This is the key to knowing it is a night terror. They are generally not awake. And the best way to pull them out of it is to WAKE THEM UP. This can be hard. My son had a few that were so deep we had to turn on all the lights, take him out of the crib, and put a cool damp washcloth on his face. Typically, as soon as a child is awakened, she will look around, reorient (oh, this is my room and there’s my mom) and then go right back to sleep. I know no one ever wants to wake a sleeping baby, but when they are screaming sometimes this is the only way to fix it!