Sleep Problems
Anticipate sleep problems at times of change — before your child goes away to camp, after the birth of a new sibling, when a parent falls ill. Another time your child may experience sleep disturbances is when he's overtired. You might expect an exhausted child to sleep like a log, but exhaustion can contribute to a propensity to sleepwalk or experience a night terror.
If your child's sleep difficulties are frequent or intense, discuss them with his physician. For information on sleep problems, consult Sleep/Wake Disorders Canada.
Bedwetting
Bedwetting can be a tough problem for school-age kids. The Canadian Sleep Society reports that 1 in 10 six-year-olds and 1 in 20 ten-year-olds has problems staying dry consistently at night. For the older child, bedwetting is a threat to self-esteem. The erroneous expectation is that big kids don't wet the bed. But when theyre invited to sleepovers or their group attends an overnight camp, these older kids can't hide their "little secret." Most often, bedwetting is caused by a developmental lag. The part of the nervous system controlling your child's bladder may be slow to mature. Over time, as the nervous system matures, the problem simply disappears.
If an older child suddenly starts to wet the bed, it may be because of a urinary-tract infection. Check it out with your family doctor, because generalized anxiety can also cause bedwetting.
Nightmares
All children have occasional nightmares, but frequent nightmares are uncommon between ages seven and eleven. Nightmares usually reflect emotional conflicts and struggles. If your child is having frequent nightmares, work with him during the day to solve his problems.
Virtually all dreaming occurs during REM sleep. While you're dreaming, you dorA call out. A child's crying and calling out occur after a bad dream when the child is awake. Attend to her quickly. She needs your full assurance because she is genuinely frightened. Be supportive in a firm way that shows that you, not the monster in her nightmare, are in control.
Night terrors
It's 10:00 p.m. and your child has been asleep since 8 o'clock. Suddenly her scream pierces the night. That's a night terror, experienced as the child partially awakens from a deep sleep cycle. DorA be alarmed; night terrors are very common in children. The Canadian Sleep Society reports that night terrors peak between the ages of four and twelve. Extreme fatigue or sleep deprivation can contribute to their occurrence.
Night terrors usually occur one to four hours after falling asleep. Your child may sit up, grind her teeth, and open her eyes, seeming to look through you rather than at you. After a few minutes, she'll lie back down and go back to a full sleep.
Or your child may screech, appear frightened, run around the room, or frantically try to leave the house. Usually you catA wake the child, and you shouldn't try, since it will only further aggravate her. Gently guide her back to bed. In the morning she won't remember a thing.
Sleepwalking
The most important thing you can do for a sleepwalking child is to prevent her from injuring herself. Although sleepwalkers are remarkably deft, they are clumsier than when awake. Keep doors and windows closed and locked. Consider a gate for across the stairway. The Canadian Sleep Society recommends attaching a bell to the child's door to alert you to nocturnal wanderings.
During sleepwalking, your child partly wakes from deep sleep, usually within three hours of falling asleep. If you talk to your child, she usually woiA answer. If she does, her speech may be garbled. As she roams, she may perform purposeful tasks, such as eating, brushing her teeth, or looking for a book. Neither awake or fully asleep, she's confused and may urinate in a different place. Simply guide her back to bed. In the morning, she'll have no memory of the experience. Don't ask her about it. It will only embarrass her. Most children who sleepwalk don't have emotional problems. Your child will outgrow sleepwalking, usually by age fifteen.
Excerpted from Raising great Kids: Ages 6 to 12 by Christine Langlois. Copyright 1999 by Telemedia Communications Inc. Excerpted, with permission by Ballantine Books. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
