How to snap a toddler out of night terrors?
Toddlers experiencing night terrors scream inconsolably, panic, or speak nonsense while completely asleep, leaving parents feeling helpless and confused about how to calm them down. Because attempts to wake or comfort them often fail or drag out the episode, parents end up spending hours sitting with them until they finally settle back down.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1Rubbing the child's back and talking or shushing
- 2Offering a sippy cup of apple juice, water, or a simple snack
- 3Getting the child to lie back down to let them pass out and fall back asleep
- 4Following a strict sleep routine
- 5Sitting with the child and holding their hand until they fall back asleep
- 6Feeding the child a banana before bed
- 7Cosleeping
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“she went to sleep around 8pm as usual, even though she did totally skip a nap today (i attempted to give her one but she never settled down and actually took one). about two hours later i hear her crying, go in instantly to check. she was still asleep, laying, eyes closed but totally panicking.”source ↗
“i felt helpless and so sad to see her so worked up. has anyone figured out a good way to snap baby out of it and calm them quicker? she was panicking so long i was worried.”source ↗
“My almost 2 1/2 year old has started waking up in the middle of the night and screams bloody murder. He will only fall back asleep if we sit with him holding his hand.”source ↗
“On Thursday night my husband stayed with him but he woke up at 2 and didn’t go to sleep until 4.”source ↗
“My son has gotten up, freaked out crying, spouting nonsense and random things that make no sense. He has acted lost in our house and was confused. The first time I didn’t know what to do.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
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- 9Why is my 12 week old waking up every 2 hours?