Every mother has at least once in her life faced with night fears in children. Most of all, babies are afraid of the dark, bad dreams, loneliness, the absence of a mother nearby. But not everyone knows how to behave properly when faced with a problem.

Where do they come from

There are no children who are not afraid of anything at all. But, when a baby has a fear of something for a long time, this is already a cause for concern.

Night fears in children do not arise out of the blue, they are caused by a number of reasons and factors:

• heredity;
• difficult course of pregnancy and childbirth pathology;
• suffered from serious illnesses, operations, especially under general anesthesia;
• lack of a close emotional relationship with the mother;
• mental trauma of any origin;
• excess of impressions, neuropsychic overload;
• an unfavorable atmosphere in the family, the nervous state of the parents, conflicts, frequent quarrels and aggressiveness in relations with children.

The main sources of fear in children's lives are:

• events in the child's life (moving to a new place of residence, moving to another school, kindergarten, quarrels, conflict in kindergarten, school, on the street);
• family situation (the birth of a second child, the appearance of a new family member, quarrels, conflicts, violence, divorce of parents, someone's death);
• tV - a huge source for receiving negative information (criminal chronicles, programs about violence, disasters, events, incidents).

Night terrors in children

Symptoms

The child, who slept sweetly a minute ago, shrinks from a heartbreaking cry. Mom finds her baby all in tears with wide open eyes full of horror. At the same time, he does not react to the appeal, any words of reassurance, waving his arms, trying to run somewhere. And after a few minutes, as if nothing had happened, he fell asleep. In the morning she remembers nothing about what happened.

Any adult can be frightened by night fears in children. These are episodes with the experience of horror, which are accompanied by screaming and panic.

This is a harmless disturbance of the arousal mechanism that has nothing to do with mental disorders. Part of the child's brain is still in the deep sleep phase, and part is ready to move into the less sound phase.

Nighttime fears are imbalances caused by overexcitement or fatigue. Fears appear during the first 2 hours of sleep and are considered part of the natural growth process for children under 6-7 years old.

How to help

Night fears pass with age, but parents can make life easier for their child using the following guidelines:

1. Keep calm... This phenomenon, especially common in children of 3-5 years old, only from the outside seems terrible.
2. To be there until it's over... The adult's task is to protect the child so that during an attack, swinging his arms and trying to run, the child does not injure himself.
3. Do not remember the night incidentso as not to upset. Children often feel uncomfortable about losing control of themselves.
4. You Can Prevent Attacks of Night Fears by Waking Up... If the child periodically suffers from night fears, you can try to wake up 30 minutes after falling asleep, avoiding a new attack.
5. Make sure your child gets enough sleepby increasing sleep time. A small child under 3 years old should be given a daytime sleep.
6. Make sure that the child does not get too tired during the day... Children 7-10 years old who refuse to sleep during the day should be put to bed earlier or allowed to sleep longer in the morning.
7. There must be a close emotional connection and fruitful communication between parents and children. Discuss the reasons for the concern. As soon as the child talks about it, he will understand that there is no reason to be afraid.

What are nightmares

Symptoms

Nightmares are vivid, dynamic, story-driven dreams that occur during REM sleep, when the brain is especially active.

Nightmares most often occur at night or in the morning occur in phases of relatively shallow sleep, in the second half of the sleep cycle. It's hard to fall asleep again.

How to help

Scary dreams can disturb children from 6 months of age. They are associated with different stages of a child's development. At 2-3 years old, it is often a dream that children are left alone, at 4-6 years old, monsters, monsters and darkness dream.

The kid requires love, attention and care. Simple actions by parents can save him from nightmares:

1. If a child wakes up from a nightmare and runs to his parents, do not scold him for this and send him back to your room. Sometimes, in order to calm him down, you have to take him to your crib, turn on the light, show that there is no one there, everything is in order.
2. Break the rules... This is not about being led by the children, but from time to time you can leave him overnight in your bed or go with him, sit next to him until he falls asleep.
3. Give your child protection from nightmares - his favorite soft toy, which will always protect him from any trouble.
4. Communicate with your child more... Only a close emotional bond with parents can provide a child with a sense of security. If a child has nightmares, parents can relieve some of the stress.

The main task of parents is to be patient and grow with their children, overcoming fears together.

When to see a doctor

In most cases, parents themselves can help their children cope with nightmares and nightmares. But there are cases that should alert parents.

You should immediately contact a specialist if:

• attacks of night fears in children last more than 30 minutes;
• episodes occur in the second half of the night;
• if the child's behavior is inadequate, he twitches, his speech is incoherent;
• if, during an attack of fears, the baby's actions are dangerous to his health;
• the child develops daytime fears;
• if the cause of the child's fears may be a stressful situation in the family, frequent conflicts, violence, divorce;
• if nightmares not only do not pass, but, on the contrary, intensify, become more frequent;
• if fears from dreams affect the child's activity during the day;
• when, under the influence of fears and nightmares, the child often urinates during sleep;
• in any other alarming case.

You should pay special attention to attacks of night fears if children have convulsive readiness:

• stuttering;
• nervous tics with rolling eyes;
• sticking out the tongue;
• sudden head movements;
• twitching shoulders;
• repeated profuse urination at night;
• asthma attacks;
• false croup;
• bronchial asthma aggravate the situation of the child.

Fears are accompanied by:

• motor excitement;
• screams;
• sharp movements;
• blackout.

This is an urgent reason to contact a doctor who will be diagnosed and treated with drugs. Classes of the child with a psychologist will be effective.

Treatment

Medication for nightmares is usually not prescribed. If the nightmares are the result of a physical or mental illness, treatment should be directed at it. If nightmares are the result of stress or anxiety, counseling with a therapist or psychologist is recommended.

In rare cases, for severe sleep disturbances, medications are used to shorten the rapid eye movement phase or prevent waking at night.

Diagnosing children's fears is a psychologist's business. During communication with children, specialists determine the degree of threat, sources and prescribe methods of struggle, using various techniques:

1. Effective methods of working with children are drawing fears, role-playing games and theatrical performances, where, using the example of the heroes of a fairy tale, causes and effects are said.
2. Children are a reflection of the family environment, parental anxieties and fears. It is the parents who reinforce the child's model of behavior by imposing excessive distrust and cowardly behavior.
3. To make the baby less afraid of the dark and bad dreams, parents should avoid conflicts, improve family relationships. Playing sports has a positive effect on children. It can be swimming, jumping with obstacles, neutralizing fears of darkness, height, and water.
4. Working with children's fears involves directly removing the fear of fear in children. After all, they are afraid - this is normal and natural. Fear helps to avoid danger. Parents should repeat that they are not ashamed to be afraid, they should accept their fears.

Raising a bold and active baby is not easy, but it can be done using some tricks:

1. Never humiliate a child or raise him high. Communicate as an equal adult family member and individual.
2. Don't scare the child, don't punish.
3. Children need to communicate with parents, relatives, friends, peers.
4. Draw and make with your child what he wants more often. This will help neutralize fears. In addition, you can assess the psychological state of his work.
5. Do not forget about the importance of physical contact with your child. Hug him often, stroke him, kiss him. This will give a feeling of security and safety.
6. A supportive family atmosphere can help neutralize or minimize fears.

Every person has fears. And if adults can, with a great desire, get rid of them on their own, then children without the help of their parents cannot do this.

No one will object that there is a close emotional connection between the child and his parents, especially his mother:

1. If parents in childhood were prone to attacks of night fears or suffered from nightmares, their children are more predisposed to these phenomena than those whose parents did not have it.
2. Parents who experienced bouts of fear in childhood react more painfully to similar phenomena in children than those who did not have these fears, fixing children's fears at the reflex level. Anxious expectations of the next seizures at the subconscious level provoke them. Parting words such as: "If anything, we are near, call", "Go to bed, otherwise you will dream again", "Do not be afraid, there will be no bad dreams", on the contrary, play the role of an invitation, reinforce fears.
3. The emotional psychological state of adults is transmitted to their children. If the mother is constantly alarmed, she is tormented by fears for any reason and panic takes possession of her, then the baby experiences similar emotions. Can your baby be guaranteed restful sleep and protection? Parents need to urgently bring their condition into balance so as not to transmit anxiety to children, otherwise problems with children's sleep cannot be avoided.

Typical mistakes of adults

To cope with childhood fears, parents should remember some rules:

1. Never worth denying and making fun of fearas a phenomenon. The kid is counting on understanding. Give it to him. Phrases: "What have you invented for yourself?", "Stop it!", "So big and you're afraid!" will not bring any result.
2. You can't blame and shame a child for his fears. This will add anxiety and guilt. Even the "future man" has the right to fear.
3. A child should not be offered to overcome fear directly.leaving in a dark room. Help him overcome fear. Walk together on "scary" places where imaginary creatures can hide, so that he himself can see that there is nothing scary there. Looking under the bed, in every corner, on every shelf, and not finding a threat there, the child will calm down.
4. Children should not be scaredthat in case of bad behavior a monster will take him away (Baba Yaga, Barmalei, Babai).

Children's imagination is the cause of nighttime anxiety

All children are different. Everyone has their own views on things, imagination, fantasy. Children are able to invent for themselves objects of night fears, endowing them with the most insidious features. To combat night fears in children, parents can use their own abilities.

It is important to pull the baby out into contact by telling stories, including him in dialogue, to find out the cause of the concern:

• Come up with a story with a happy ending that tells you a way to eradicate fear.
• Together, you can draw what the child is afraid of, and then destroy the drawing, and with it the fears. The child must understand that his night fears exist separately from him, and he can control them, change and defeat them.

How to overcome your fear of the dark

The fear of the dark is the most popular childhood fear that everyone goes through. There is a huge space for imagination. The job of parents is to turn the imagination against fear.

Weak light sources are the first helpers in the fight against the fear of the dark. Taking care of the interior in the children's room, providing the baby with light sources of light, parents also dispel fear.

It can be fluorescent stickers in the form of stars, a night light in the form of a favorite animal that will protect you, or a sun that shines even at night.

Fear of being alone

Often, under the fear of darkness, children mask their fear of loneliness. The child simply does not have enough communication with family members: dad and mom.

If, carried away by other activities, for example, playing, a child is not afraid to stay indoors without lighting, and in the middle of the night calls his parents, then he is not really worried about fear or a nightmare, but loneliness.

Try to give your baby more time and attention during the day, then at night he will stop calling for help.

Prevention

Any problem is easier to prevent than to deal with. By providing the conditions for normal sleep, we will reduce the risk of developing night fears.

Attacks of night fears and nightmares are typical for preschool children. It will not be possible to completely eliminate them, you can only alleviate the child's fate.

Sleeping room

If material and living conditions allow, it is better to allocate a separate room for the child to sleep. The atmosphere should radiate peace and comfort.

1. Lingerie should be clean, fresh, made of natural fabrics of light soothing shades or with the image of your favorite fairy-tale characters.
2. It is allowed to use a "magic" night light, which will drive away fears, or a favorite toy.
3. It is recommended to isolate the room where children sleep from unnecessary noises and sounds.
4. According to the recommendations of Dr. Komarovsky, the air temperature in the room should be 16-20 ° C and air humidity 50-70%. Frequent wet cleaning and airing are mandatory.
5. To protect the child from injury and damage during an attack of fears, you need to check the sleeping place for sharp corners and dangerous objects.
6. A radio or video baby monitor will help you to know if your baby is in a separate room when an attack of fears or nightmares has begun.

Ritual of going to bed

The child should be taught to go to bed at the same time every day.
The ritual of falling asleep should be pleasant, able to relax the baby after a busy day, calm his violent imagination.

They will help to find a peaceful sleep, distract from fears, creating a favorable atmosphere, and feel the love and care of parents:

• favorite fairy tale with a happy ending;
• sweet lullaby;
• listened to light music;
• soft toy;
• mother's gentle hug and kiss goodnight.

You should pay attention to the diet. In order not to reboot the stomach before bedtime, direct the brain to a calm rest, and not to digest food, heavy fatty fried foods should be excluded, sugary drinks, sweets, chocolate are strictly prohibited.

Psychological comfort

A healthy psychological climate in the family is important for normal sleep and the development of children. The child should be protected from unwanted negativity. Only a trusting relationship between parents and children is able to provide normal conditions for the development of a baby.

Parents should remember that only love for children, respect for their opinions, wise upbringing, and attentive attitude are the key to the baby's health, restful sleep for the whole family and happiness in general.

Video: How to Measure Childhood Fears

... The kid suddenly "wakes up" and screams in his sleep the terrible words "Don't touch me, move away!", "Stop now!", "Disappear, please, disappear!", He does not respond to mother's calls and persuasions, continues to cry terribly. His eyes are open, his forehead is covered with sweat, the child is not himself. This horror can last from several minutes to half an hour. Here is an example of parasomnia called "night terror". Whoever has ever faced a night hysteria will never forget it.

What is parasomnia?

A person's sleep is not just a lack of wakefulness, it is a whole world, a system organized in a special way. This system is controlled by the brain and subordinates the entire body during sleep. Even in an adult, sleep and wakefulness may not completely merge into each other. In a child, especially in the first months of his life, when the phases of sleep are not yet fully formed, they sometimes appear at the “wrong time” or even overlap one another. At the moments of such "phase overlap", the body behaves not quite normally - a person can walk, talk, move his arms and legs, or even sob bitterly, while continuing to sleep soundly. Such phenomena of activity during deep sleep are called parasomnia (from steam - disturbance and somnus - sleep).

Parasomnia is not a pathology, but simply a consequence of the general immaturity of the brain. Over time, this "phase overlap" occurs less and less often, and usually goes away completely by the transitional age.

Well, except that leaving about yourself "as a keepsake" the ability to talk in a dream.

Parasomnias by themselves do not pose a health hazard, however, they can add anxiety and excitement to parents. It is best to catch up on parents with horror such manifestations of parasomnia as night tantrums and sleepwalking. Here we will dwell on them in more detail.

Night tantrums. Why does the child cry in his sleep?

Let's immediately differentiate the terms so as not to get confused further. There is a dream about children's sleep, but the terminology is different everywhere. So, there are terrible unpleasant dreams. We all see them sometimes at night, but they have nothing to do with what we will call night tantrums, or nightmares / fears. The nature of nighttime tantrums is very different from the nature of ordinary dreams, below we will consider and analyze the main differences.

Most often, night tantrums occur in children from one to five years old. Night tantrums (in English-language sources "night terror") are attacks of intense fear, usually accompanied by crying or screaming, arising when one phase of sleep is superimposed on another.

Anyone who has ever encountered this phenomenon knows that it is really very scary. The child desperately screams, talks, his eyes are wide open, but he does not seem to see you, his forehead is covered with sweat. You can feel how hard his heart is beating and how hard he is breathing. It is almost impossible to calm the kid down, he does not respond to persuasion, does not allow himself to be hugged or pulled out of the crib.

Indeed, one should not try to do this.

While the child may appear to be awake, it is in fact in deep sleep. An attack of night hysterics can last from several minutes to half an hour.

What is the main difference between nighttime tantrums and terrible dreams?

Scary dreams, like any other dream, occur during the rapid eye movement phase. During this phase, the body is asleep, but the brain works in much the same way as in wakefulness. Sleep at this time is sensitive, a child who had a nightmare can quickly wake up, he remembers what scared him, and your gentle hands, hugs, motion sickness will help him calm down.

This is not the case with an episode of night hysteria. Night tantrums usually occur at the beginning of the night, when phases of deep sleep prevail, in which the person sleeps without dreams. The child suddenly experiences a strong feeling of fear, his brain tries to wake up, but at the same time continues to sleep soundly. As a result, the baby screams and cries, but it will not work to correct the situation by persuasion or affection - although the baby's eyes are open, he sleeps and does not see you.

A kid who has experienced a night tantrum will not remember anything after waking up. Therefore, if you want to talk to him about what happened, your inquiries should be built only in the form of open questions that do not offer a choice of two or three options and cannot be answered "yes" or "no."

Let's clarify why you can't "guess". Imagine: the baby still woke up from the night hysterics, remembers nothing, except that he slept sweetly in his bed. And then a frightened crowd stands in front of him: a neighbor with a valerian, an older sister, and my mother in tears asks: "Darling, did you dream that a shark was chasing you or how mother left and did not return?" Put yourself in the child's shoes. Then you confess to anything, if only everyone left and stopped asking strange questions. But doubts that everything is fine, the baby will definitely appear.

It's best to ask questions like "What do you remember?" or “What did you dream about?” so as not to impose on the child your vision of what happened. And then, such questions can be asked once to make sure that it really was an episode of parasomnia, "night terror". The calmer and less intrusive you ask your baby about what happened, the less likely you are to scare him.

So what to do with night tantrums?

First of all, it is necessary to exclude the possibility of neurological causes of what is happening. Consult your doctor. If the doctor says that your baby is healthy and does not need treatment, then you need to behave with night tantrums as follows:

• As already mentioned, do not try to wake up the child - you will only disturb him more.
• Dim the lights, sit next to him, but do not try to take the baby out of the crib or hug him. Make sure that the child does not injure himself if he jerks his arms or legs sharply. You can hum or say something soothing to him.
• The most important thing that needs to be done is to prevent nighttime tantrums in the future - to monitor the child's regimen, not to allow "walking" or lack of sleep, to avoid stress and overexcitation.
• Be sure to keep a diary where you write down what time your baby went to bed on the day when the night hysteria arose, and what time the episode began. On the following nights, you can wake up the baby for a second with a gentle hug and kiss half an hour before the expected time of the start of the hysteria, this will disrupt his rhythms and "reset" his sleep. Often this method helps to avoid night tantrums. This work must be done within two weeks and then try to see if it was possible to restart the system as a whole. Of course, all this time it is important to put your baby to sleep early, offer a nap, avoid noisy events and unusual trips.
• Pay attention to the crib: it should be as safe as possible. Take special care of the safety of the sleeping place so that the baby cannot harm himself when he waving his arms and legs in his sleep.

As we get older, attacks of nighttime tantrums usually subside, but in some cases may return during adolescence. Be prepared for this and warn your child that this can happen.

It is also worth paying your attention to whether your relatives had parasomnias in childhood. This often suggests that this can happen to your baby too - the causes of parasomnia have genetic roots. Moreover, if one of the relatives had one type of parasomnia, his child may have another. For example, a grandmother had nighttime tantrums, and her grandson may have sleepwalking.

Sleepwalking

Studies have shown that 5% of children between the ages of 6 and 16 experienced sleepwalking up to 12 times a year. And another 10% had episodes of walking in a dream every 3-4 months. Modern science believes that sleepwalking is not associated with emotional stress or behavioral problems, but its causes lie in a hereditary predisposition. Sleepwalking usually occurs 2-3 hours after falling asleep, and lasts up to half an hour. If you look at the lunatic at this time, it seems that he does not quite understand where he is. His gait is devoid of smoothness, and his movements seem to be aimless. During episodes of sleepwalking, the child can not only walk, but also dress, open doors and windows, and even eat! The problem does not require treatment, however, you should attend to certain safety measures. Make sure that your baby (or husband) cannot open the front door or window in a dream: place the door lock or chain so high that the child cannot reach it, put special handles with a lock on the windows. It is also worth removing toys and furniture with hard corners from the path of the sleeping child.

Parents are really afraid of night tantrums in a 2-year-old child. Komarovsky advises to consult a specialist with frequent night tantrums. After all, this indicates that the baby's nervous system is exhausted, perhaps he has something in pain or he has nightmares (again, against the background of nervous overstrain). There are also one-time attacks that do not recur. Today we will talk about the causes of nighttime tantrums in a 2-year-old child, which recur stably. We will also learn how to deal with such a problem.

Unstable schedule

The cause of nighttime tantrums in a 2-year-old child may be instability in the daily routine. Babies react especially sharply to a sudden change in regime. For example, he was just sent to a kindergarten, where everything is scheduled by the hour: classes, games, sleep an hour, walks, and so on. At home, the child had a completely different regime, he could play when he wanted, sleep when he was tired, eat as required, walk only with mom or dad. They are taught to a different routine, and now he plays on the street with the teacher and other kids.

If the child is not attending kindergarten yet, then a schedule must be established. The kid should wake up and fall asleep at the same time. Eat by the hour, walk on schedule. In the future, this will help to easily adapt to the kindergarten regime, and the changes will not affect the baby's psyche.

Adults can easily experience such changes as a shift in lunch or rest, and children still have a very weak nervous system, and any changes are real stress for them.

Another reason for night tantrums in a 2-year-old child can be an increase or decrease in daylight hours. For example, they put him to bed when it was already dark, but here it was light. Or vice versa - they went to bed when it was still light, and now it is dark around, and against the background of this, the baby may have nightmares or, upon a sudden awakening, dream of something.

Saturated evening

Children's nightlife can occur against the background of overwork in the afternoon. Many people, after a children's daytime sleep, like to go shopping, take kids to entertainment centers. And adults often go to visit in the evening.

The child's busy program should be before naps, in the afternoon he gets very tired. Advice to parents: at least an hour before bedtime, you need to collect all the toys, persuade the child to play quiet games, take a bath, watch a kind cartoon, read a fairy tale. An hour before bedtime, the baby should calm down mentally. Games in entertainment centers or visiting parties should be completely excluded. If you need to get out of the house at this time, it is better to ask grandmothers, aunts, nannies or other people close to the child to sit with him.

Lack of daytime rest

It is this factor that can provoke night tantrums in a 2-year-old child. Up to this age, children must have a rest during the day. With the onset of two years of age, many mothers and fathers make a mistake: the baby does not ask to sleep, well, let him play, he will fall asleep earlier in the evening and sleep better all night. You cannot refuse daytime sleep. For a child, the whole day is a very long period, the baby's body must necessarily rest for a while.

Many children really do not feel tired, and they refuse to sleep for an hour when their mother calls on them, run away, and may even start to be capricious. It's okay, try to calm your child as much as possible, he will definitely fall asleep.

Diseases

Night tantrums in a 2-year-old child can be triggered by an incipient or pre-existing illness, accompanied by pain or high fever. Assess the baby's condition for the whole day: were there any prerequisites for the disease. Ask if anything hurts, measure the temperature, even if the forehead is not hot.

Stable recurring night tantrums in a 2-year-old child, when there are no signs of illness, the schedule is stable and there is no overwork, can signal high intracranial pressure or an unbalanced psyche. It is impossible to identify this on your own, you need to see a doctor.

Nightmares

Tantrums at night in a child can be caused by terrible dreams. Cartoons watched before bedtime can cause nightmares in a dream. Today there are a lot of cartoons (especially cartoons) featuring villains, monsters, evil robots and other evil spirits. For a child, especially a two-year-old, watching such programs is harmful and dangerous, they are not displayed in the best way on the psyche.

Do not include cartoons for your baby at night, unless these are stories about Winnie the Pooh or other goodies (with no villains). For example, "Smeshariki", Soviet and Disney cartoons are perfect. And best of all, before bedtime, do not turn on the TV to the baby at all, play a quiet game, read a fairy tale.

Even if the child is just playing, running, do not include action films and horrors. The kid can see something out of the corner of his eye, and his brain picks up screams, shootings and other unpleasant noise, which as a result can cause nightmares and hysteria. Do not watch TV loudly when your baby is sleeping. Any loud sound can provoke a nightmare or a sudden waking up of the child, after which tantrums often occur.

Another reason for nightmares: someone abruptly (accidentally, or specifically during the game) scared the baby, jumped out from around the corner, or the child ran a lot, hid, tickled him. Such active games should take place only in the daytime; at least an hour before bedtime, hyperactive pastime should not be allowed.

Unfavorable psychological environment in the family

Children react sharply to the family environment. If parents swear, drink, scandals and even fights happen - all this affects the child's psyche.

The kid can get nervous strain, even when parents scold the older brother or sister for a grade received at school, while doing homework, for lack of order in the room, and so on.

You can't yell at a two-year-old kid, all the more so to spank him for some pranks or carelessness.

Always, everything and everyone can be explained calmly. Avoid scandals at home, especially in the presence of children, and even more so, do not shout at them. Children's psyche is very weak. At first, nightmares, tantrums may appear, and then more serious psychological disorders.

Conversation with a kindergarten teacher

The reason for night tantrums in a child may be that he is offended in kindergarten. Other children, even nannies and the teacher himself, can become offenders. We do not see what is happening in the kindergarten group, and the educators may be hiding something.

Take the teacher to an open conversation. Find out if there was any inappropriate behavior on his part (he slapped your child or another in front of him), if the teacher or nanny is swearing. This can be traced. Just stay in the garden for a while, come there in the afternoon or earlier than usual for the child, talk to other parents. It is also necessary to find out if the baby is offended by other children, if there was an incident during the games (fell hard, fought, hit, and so on).

Night hysterics in a child 2 years old: what to do?

So, you put the baby to bed, went about your business, or also went on vacation. And suddenly, in the middle of the night, a heart-rending cry is heard. What to do in a situation when the baby does not react to the fact that you have already come, breaks out of his hands and continues to scream loudly? Specialist advice for a night tantrum in a 2-year-old child will help parents quickly recover and calm the baby down.

1. In no case do not panic yourself, because this condition is transmitted to the child, and we do not need to aggravate his condition. Pull yourself together, because at the moment you are the guide of the baby from a nightmare to a calm reality. Start talking to your child, but without worry, calmly and measuredly.
2. Show that the baby is not alone, remember some of his favorite fairy tales or a funny incident, calmly talk to the baby.
3. Bodily contact can also help calm a frightened child. Hug the baby, gently stroke the back, lie down next to him.

What to do after the first tantrum?

If this was an isolated case, then do not rush to resort to the help of drugs. Pediatrician Yevgeny Komarovsky advises generally using medications as a last resort. According to him, the normalization of sleep is not a drug treatment, but a correction of conditions.

Install a soft-lit night light in your child's bedroom and ventilate the room before bed. Do not overfeed your baby before bed, but do not go to bed when hungry. Food should be light, yogurt, milk with cookies or a glass of sweetened kefir / fermented baked milk are excellent.

Medication solution

In case of night tantrums in a child of 2 years, only a specialist should prescribe medication and only after establishing the cause of the disturbed sleep. You should not prescribe pills to your baby yourself, they can only harm.

Usually, to improve sleep, they prescribe a course of "Magnesium B6", "Glycine", soothing teas, for example, "Evening Tale". All these funds will not harm the baby, but still you cannot start giving them to the child without a doctor's prescription, who will set the correct dosage and frequency of administration.

Folk remedies

How to save a 2-year-old child from night tantrums? Drugs may not be required at all, because there are many popular ways to improve children's sleep and get rid of nightmares.

1. Aromatherapy. Before going to bed, bathe your baby in warm water, add a few drops of lavender oil to the bathroom. This remedy has long been used for deep and restful sleep. The same oil can be dripped onto the back corner of the baby's pillow or blanket. After a couple of hours, it will begin to smell sweet, giving the baby a restful sleep.
2. "Sleepy tea" can be bought at the pharmacy, or you can make it yourself. Brew 0.5-1 tablespoon of hop cones in a glass of boiling water, let it brew and cool, and before bed, let your baby drink a third of the glass.
3. "Sleepy cocktail" will please the sweet tooth. Grind a banana with half a cup of milk (warm) and half a cup of chamomile tea. Add two drops of motherwort and a spoonful of honey.

Experts attribute night fears in a child to a widespread group of sleep disorders. Many parents have encountered their manifestation in their baby at least once in their lives. Most of all, children are afraid of bad dreams, darkness, the absence of a mother, as well as loneliness.

Night terrors in a child occur most often between the ages of 3 and 13 years. According to available data, up to 50% of babies suffer from this unpleasant phenomenon. The most pronounced night fears in a child of 3 years. What are the reasons for such an unpleasant phenomenon and how to eliminate it once and for all?

When does this happen?

Night terrors should be distinguished from nightmares. The second of them come to a person during the active phase of sleep, that is, in the second half of the night. That is why, after awakening, he continues to remember their content. The opposite picture is observed with night fears. They come during the slow phase, almost immediately after the baby has fallen asleep, and therefore are not remembered.

The rise with night fears in a child occurs with chaotic movements and screams. After that, the baby does not calm down for another 15-40 minutes. During the activation of night fears in children, Komarovsky (a well-known pediatrician) indicates that the child continues to sleep. That is why he does not recognize close people. And in the morning the baby is not able to remember what happened.

Psychologists believe that night fears in a child are absolutely natural. It is due to the completion of the process of formation of the central nervous system. And only in the case when attacks of night fear in children are repeated often, parents need to contact a specialist with their child. Consider the reasons for this unpleasant phenomenon in children of different ages.

1 to 3 years old

The sleep of babies during this age period is usually very deep. Those plots and pictures that come to them during a night's rest are simply erased from memory. That is why, after waking up, the crumbs do not remember their dreams. Because of this, no attacks of nocturnal fear are observed in children at this age. Sometimes it is difficult for a baby to fall asleep. But at this age, this is due to an too active day, full of impressions. In addition, such children practically do not distinguish dream from reality. They sometimes wake up and cry only from the fact that they are not able to give themselves an explanation for the change in the situation, which may be caused, for example, by the fact that after playing in the sun, the baby is suddenly left alone in a dark room. But after the children find their mother next to them, they quickly calm down and immediately fall asleep.

3-4 years old

The first night fears in a child appear during the period when his brain is completing the process of its formation. At this time, a separation of reality and sleep occurs in babies.

At 3-4 years of age, night fears in a child are associated with his and also with the violent activity of fantasy. In his imagination, the brain of a little man draws pictures of shadows, which begin to be seen, for example, as a terrible fairy-tale monster. It crawls out from behind the closet and is ready to grab the baby with its huge shaggy paw. At the same time, the child will hardly be able to fall asleep.

5-7 years old

During this period of the child's life, his socialization takes place. At the age of 5-7 years, night fears in children are associated with this process. This is the period when babies begin to actively seek and defend their own place in society. The recognition of others becomes extremely important for them. The child may be worried about a quarrel with friends. He is also worried about thoughts, for example, about tomorrow's performance at a festive matinee, etc.

Starting from the age of 5, the child's nighttime fears are often associated with the experience of a conflict situation with his mother. To prevent them, all negative moments must certainly be sorted out. Otherwise, it will seem to the baby that his mother has stopped loving him and will never love him again.

At this age, babies are worried about the performance of those still minimal social functions that are assigned to them in this period. Among them are joint games, performing simple housework, etc. If any failure occurs during these simple processes, it is possible to have a negative impact on the psyche of the baby. This will definitely be reflected in his sleep.

7-9 years old

If nighttime fears in children at the age of 6 are associated with adaptation in society, then after entering school, new anxieties and phobias arise. They are formed because of their new environment and learning.

Night fears in children of 7 years old are caused by the fact that at this age schoolchildren are not yet able to fully control their own emotions. And this is especially evident in a period of severe congestion.

Disturbing thoughts about school torment children, as a rule, up to 9 years of age. In the evening, the child begins to rethink the entire day he has lived. And sometimes he is not always able to cope with the surging emotions, especially with a strong load.

That is why it is important for parents to notice the first signs of overwork in their child in time and plan his day, taking into account individual characteristics and age.

Around this period, children begin to realize that life on earth is not eternal. This awakens the fear of death in them. They may be afraid, for example, that they will fall asleep in the evening and not wake up in the morning. The child's fear also arises because of the likelihood that the parents will die and he will be left alone. This fear is often difficult to recognize. The fact is that children do not like to talk about this. But it should be borne in mind that psychologists consider such a phenomenon to be quite normal.

The symptomatology of fears in children at the age of 9 changes somewhat. In this age period, more significant and global reasons lead to anxiety. In addition to the fear of their own and their parents' death, schoolchildren are afraid to be left alone in a world filled with strangers and evil people. Also, these children have fears because of the likelihood that they will not be able to adapt in society, as well as because of the lack of confidence in their abilities. At the age of 9, the child begins to fear disasters, wars, violence, etc.

Teenage years

High school students experience nightly fears due to other problems. Their worries are associated with the fear of passing exams, choosing the correct future profession, etc. In addition, puberty of young people occurs in adolescence, and guys sometimes worry about the complexity of relationships with girls, and vice versa. Children from 12 to 16 years old often consider their own social status with anxiety.

In addition, adolescents strive to show themselves only from the best side everywhere and in everything. The possibility of failure breeds fear in them. Self-doubt does not allow these children to communicate normally with their peers.

When does it pass?

As you grow older, some childhood fears are replaced by others. All this indicates the passage of the natural stages of development of the baby's psyche. However, many parents are still interested to know when nightmares and nightmares in children disappear. Experts say that it is impossible to name the exact age, since everything is purely individual.

If parents react correctly to such phenomena, then by the age of 9-10 most children can sleep peacefully in a separate room. However, sometimes this period is delayed. Night terrors can be present in the life of a child under 12 years of age or older. All this can develop into real phobias. And here the child will certainly need the help of a specialist.

The nature of fears

Nocturnal fear will never arise in a child just like that. It is due to a number of factors and reasons, including:

• difficult course of pregnancy;
• heredity;
• childbirth pathology;
• transferred severe pathologies;
• operations, especially if they were performed under general anesthesia;
• lack of close emotional relationship with mom;
• mental trauma;
• excess of impressions;
• neuropsychic overload;
• unfavorable family atmosphere;
• the nervous state of parents, frequent conflicts between them, as well as aggressive behavior with children.

The main sources of fear in babies are certain events in their life, such as:

• moving to another place of residence;
• conflict on the street, at school and in kindergarten;
• transition to a new children's educational institution;
• the birth of a second child in the family;
• divorce of parents;
• death of loved ones.

A colossal source of negative information is modern television with its criminal chronicles, programs about violence, incidents and disasters.

Symptoms of fears

Not every child who is afraid of the dark will complain to adults. Sometimes children are embarrassed to tell their dads and mothers about it. That is why psychologists advise parents to pay attention to the mood of their offspring, as well as to the following symptoms:

• unwillingness to go to bed;
• please leave the lights on in the room;
• the difficulty of falling asleep even when the child is with his mother.

Sometimes it seems to parents that there is some obstacle that does not allow the baby to relax. In fact, it is the reason that the child cannot go through the nap phase. If this happens, then he will continue to sleep peacefully until morning awakening.

Seeing a doctor

How to save a child from night fears? As a rule, parents can help their children themselves. However, in certain cases, dads and moms should immediately see a specialist. You will need a doctor's consultation:

• with prolonged attacks of night fears;
• inadequate state of the child, when he begins to twitch and talk incoherently;
• strengthening of negative phenomena.

Parents should be alert in other cases as well. For example, with convulsive readiness of children during nighttime fears or with nervous tics, rolling eyes, protruding tongue, sudden head movements, twitching shoulders, attacks of suffocation, etc. The manifestation of the symptoms described above is the reason for an urgent visit to a doctor for diagnosis and prescription treating children from night fears with the help of drugs, as well as classes with a psychologist.

Identifying the problem

In preschool children, as well as in primary school children, anxiety can be identified using one of the methods proposed by child psychologists. The most popular of them is diagnostics carried out according to the system of M. Panfilova and A. Zakharov. It is called "Fears in the Houses".

The child is asked to draw two houses. One of them should be drawn in black pencil, and the other in red. When the drawings are ready, the specialist invites his little patient to play a game. Its condition is the resettlement of all fears in the houses. The worst of them should be placed in the black house, and the least fearsome in the red one. During classes, a specialist needs to constantly monitor the child in order to assess the number of drawings that will indicate the most terrible fears. This will allow the psychologist to decide on the further course of the classes and on what correction techniques will be most effective in this case.

The professional may ask the child to draw a lock on the door of a black house. This will allow the little patient to understand that he is safe, because all his fears are locked.

Correction of the psyche

In order to save a child from night fears, it is necessary first of all to establish contact with him. This will allow the technician to identify the signs and causes of the problem. Parents should also help the child overcome anxiety. What methods are recommended for this?

1. Play therapy. The advantage of this technique is that the child does not fully understand what is happening. He just plays with his parents or with a psychologist. The task of adults in this case is to create such conditions that they arouse fear in the baby, and then you need to help him cope with a negative situation.
2. Painting. This method of diagnosing and further correcting fears is considered the most effective among both preschoolers and students of educational institutions. During drawing lessons, children transfer their experiences and emotions to paper. In this case, the specialist must identify the fear visualized by the patient and designate it in a humorous form. This will fix the problem.
3. Sand therapy. This is one of the methods of art therapy. It allows you to relieve stress, as well as identify and fight against the child's fears.
4. Puppet therapy and fairy tale therapy. When using these techniques, a specialist needs to come up with a plot according to which the selected character overcomes his fear in one way or another to suppress it.

In addition to the above methods of eliminating fears, psychologists can use various trainings. Lessons with tests and questionnaires will be no less effective.

For older children, conversations are more appropriate. But they need to be carried out only if the child is open for contact with a specialist. In this case, the doctor can apply the following techniques and methods:

1. Interpretation. It allows the child to eliminate their fears while instilling rationalization of negative thoughts.
2. Reacting. The main goal of this technique is to create an artificial environment during which negative emotions are expressed.
3. Desensitization. With the help of these exercises, the mechanism for eliminating fear is developed through periodic meetings with it.
4. Containment. Identifying the causes of a negative phenomenon and eliminating some of their signs will be much easier if the patient's parents are involved in the therapy. The specialist will give them the necessary advice that will allow you to eliminate the fear in the child as efficiently and quickly as possible.

Drug therapy

Treatment with drugs can eliminate many of the symptoms that torment the child. But it should be borne in mind that such therapy is secondary. The main task in eliminating a negative phenomenon is mental correction.

Doctors prescribe pills only to relieve depression, stress and other manifestations of asthenia. In such cases, the child is recommended vitamins, calcium supplements, mild antidepressants, nootropics, as well as sedatives (with severe excitability) and tranquilizers (with hyposthenia). Taking medications should be combined with physiotherapy and individual work with the child of a psychologist.

Consolidation of results

How to make sure that night fears never return to a child? To do this, parents need to create a favorable atmosphere in the family and spend more time with the baby (especially if he is 3-5 years old). At the same time, it is very important that children constantly feel their own safety. Joint cognitive and entertaining games can help in this. In addition, it is important for parents to stop bullying their children by using this technique as a method of education. After all, it is often because of this that night fears arise.

Dads and mothers also should not assure their child that there is nothing to be afraid of. Psychologists consider this approach to be incorrect. The child needs to be taught to overcome difficulties. Total control and overprotection can cause new phobias.

Thematic literature

Child mental health professionals often rely on recommendations and explanations given in Alexander Zakharov's book Day and Night Fears in Children. In this work, for the first time in world and domestic practice, the main reasons for the appearance and further development of anxiety were considered. The author cited statistical data on the scale of the occurrence of day and night fears in children, indicating the influence on them of various factors, the most important of which are family relationships. The book is written from the point of view of a child psychologist and pediatrician. It will be useful for parents to read it.