A 6-year-old child cries a lot in his sleep

If parents are wondering why their child cries in his sleep, then most likely they are familiar with this problem firsthand. Many fathers and mothers spend sleepless nights, not feeling sorry for themselves, at the child’s crib.

If a child does not get enough sleep, then over time his nervous system becomes exhausted. This threatens many problems: both developmental delays and a sharp deterioration in well-being. Let's take a closer look at what could be bothering the baby?

Since to fully disclose the reasons why a child cries in his sleep, medical knowledge is also required, my friend, a pediatrician of the highest category, Khmeleva Larisa Ivanovna, helped me write this article. I express my gratitude to her.

Everyone knows that a small child often cries in his sleep. This is considered normal and not a cause for concern. After all, through crying, the baby signals his problems. And they can also be different for a little person. Often mom and dad simply don’t know why the baby woke up.

The causes of restless sleep depend on the age of the baby. Let us conditionally divide the reasons into 2 groups: in children under one year and in children after one year. In any case, parents should know what to do and how to eliminate the cause of concern. After all, sleep is the most important cure for all illnesses and anxieties. Adequate rest is vital for both adults and children.

Startling in sleep

Sometimes the baby wakes up because he starts in his sleep or when falling asleep. At these moments, individual muscle groups tense and relax unevenly. The cause may be overexcitation before bedtime, as well as loud noises that frighten the baby. Don't be scared or make sudden movements. Most likely, the baby, having opened his eyes slightly and made sure that everything is in order, will again fall into a doze.

If the tremors are repeated several times in a row and have no apparent reason, then we can talk about convulsions. In this case, it is imperative to show the child to a pediatric neurologist.

Interruptions in breathing (sleep apnea)

Some children suddenly begin to snore in their sleep without having a cold. If you listen carefully, the snoring is interrupted from time to time, and the baby does not breathe for some time (up to 10 seconds). This phenomenon is called sleep apnea and is due to the fact that the flow of air on the way to the trachea is interrupted. Sometimes the throat muscles relax so much during sleep that the tongue falls back and blocks the air flow. Enlarged tonsils and adenoids are also a common cause. During the day, these children often seem sleepy and tired. Sometimes, on the contrary, they are overly active, or parents notice some other changes in their behavior.

If you notice signs of sleep apnea in your child, you should definitely take him to the doctor. In most cases, enlarged tonsils or adenoids have to be removed, but the baby will sleep soundly and peacefully again at night.

Reason for crying in children under 1 year old

Here the main irritant is physiological discomfort. Colic in the intestines, discomfort in the stomach (may be associated with complementary foods), an overfilled diaper, a feeling of hunger, and teething are often disturbing. Sometimes too high or low a temperature causes discomfort in the baby, and this causes him to wake up.

Colds

The real reason is quite difficult to find out without calling a doctor at home. If a child has an elevated body temperature, it means that an inflammatory process has begun in the body. This may primarily be expressed in discomfort when swallowing, ear pain, severe cough or runny nose.

Fluid that accumulates in the lungs and nasopharynx, inflammation in the ear (otitis media) cause very severe discomfort. When a child has difficulty breathing, he wakes up. You need to call a doctor at home. Following his instructions, urgently take action: buy the necessary medications, carry out procedures, possibly undergo some tests.
The first thing the mother should do is put drops in the baby’s nose to make breathing easier, then bring down the temperature that is too high. If the doctor has prescribed any medications, then it is necessary to give the child tablets and pills strictly according to the prescription and schedule. In no case is it recommended to self-medicate, even if you have five children and a lot of experience. Remember that every child is an individual. What is normal for other children may not be suitable for this one.
Don't forget about a respirator if everyone in the house is sick. Do wet cleaning regularly and ventilate the room. Limit your baby's communication with other family members. At the moment he only needs his mother. Don't play loud music or make noise. Even if the child is not sleeping, try to keep the room quiet and calm.

You may be interested in Caring for a child in the first days of life - What parents should know and be able to do

Colic

Gas and abdominal discomfort in a baby can be caused by too high a fat content of breast milk, an unsuitable formula for artificial feeding and digestive problems in a particular case.

Of course, if these symptoms recur regularly, then you should take your baby to the pediatrician for a consultation. But if cases are rare, then you can alleviate the child’s condition in the following ways:

Stroke your tummy clockwise with your hand. Apply a diaper heated to a warm state.
Strictly dosing, you need to give the child to drink either dill water or tea with fennel. There are also special drops that can be purchased at the pharmacy. Depending on your age, dose correctly after reading the instructions.
Hold the baby in an upright position, with his tummy facing you. After some time, the gas will go away and the baby will calm down. You don't need to put him to bed right away. Next to a loved one, especially in the first months of life, the baby feels protected.

Sleepwalking

You already know that your baby's deep sleep phase is interrupted from time to time by moments of incomplete awakening. Usually these moments go unnoticed. The child may roll over, mutter something, open his eyes for a short moment and, without any problems, fall back into deep sleep. But sometimes children linger in a similar state of half-asleep, half-awake. At this time, they may talk, walk and make other unconscious movements and actions (sleepwalking), as well as scream in fear without realizing it and without reacting to your presence (night fright).

Do not be alarmed - in most cases this condition is not dangerous and until the age of six it is usually not associated with any mental disorders, fears or problems. According to doctors, the predisposition to sleepwalking is transmitted genetically and is associated with a longer process of brain formation than in other children.

If your baby moves around the room in a similar state, then you must make sure that he cannot get hurt, open a window or front door, go out onto the balcony, etc.

In addition, he must get enough sleep at night and not be too tired during the day (tired children sleep especially deeply). Therefore, try to adhere to a clear daily routine.

Night fright

If a child, in the first 3-4 hours after falling asleep, suddenly screams or cries in fear (sometimes he also waves his arms, sweats, and his heart beats rapidly) and does not let you near him, then he is in a state of night terror. He sees a terrible dream, but does not wake up from it. Do not try to wake up the baby at this moment. Make sure he doesn't get hurt. Don’t ask the next morning what the matter was—the child won’t be able to remember anything. A night terror may pass quickly, but can last up to 20 (or even 30) minutes. Then the child suddenly calms down, relaxes and falls asleep peacefully. Over time, night terrors go away on their own, so reassure yourself with the thought that this phenomenon is temporary and not dangerous.

Useful tips

Get a good night's sleep:

ventilate the room;
monitor the temperature (20-22°C);
monitor the humidity (50-70%);
prepare the crib if you are teaching your child to fall asleep on his own, so that it is neither soft nor hard, clean and without wrinkles;
stock up on good overnight diapers;
do not overfeed or overheat the baby;
Stock up on gum gel and antipyretic in case of a toothache.

Organize a good day:

do not offend the baby;
do not irritate the child;
walk more;
feed as much as he wants, do not stuff the child;
do not overload the cub physically and emotionally;
for the whims of older children, make allowances for the child’s 3-year-old crisis, do not provoke unnecessary scandals;
stick to a routine;
Do not put your baby to bed earlier than he wants.

And most importantly, monitor the health of your children; in the evening, any illnesses worsen their effect on the body. If you prepare everything correctly, everyone will have a sweet, healthy sleep!

Nightmares, childhood fears and healing tales

If a night fright occurs during a period of deep sleep (the baby sees a terrible dream, does not notice you, screams and does not allow you to get closer to him), then nightmares occur during REM sleep (the child cries with fear, having already woken up, reacts to your presence and gives calm yourself down).

The cause of nightmares usually lies in childhood fears and problems, as well as in conflicts, impressions, experiences and shocks of the past day. Therefore, it is very important to give the baby the opportunity to talk about his dream. This alone can help him free himself from fear. In addition, you can thus find out what specific facts or events lie behind it.

Nightmares especially often plague children between 3 and 6 years of age. At this age, the child already sees and knows a lot, but does not yet understand everything. He does not yet have life experience, so he may be afraid of the new and unfamiliar, frightening events and unexpected situations. A quarrel between parents, a large dog suddenly appearing in front of a child, a car that suddenly brakes, a frightening-looking passerby who speaks to the child - everything that made a strong impression on him or frightened him during the day can be reflected in frightening dreams.

The boundary between a real idea of the world and fantasy is still very vague in young children, and children are often frightened by their own inventions. Fantasies suddenly begin to get out of control, become unruly and scary. Ghosts, trolls and other fairy-tale figures or cartoon characters begin to haunt the baby, approach his crib and disturb his nighttime peace.

Very often children are afraid of the dark. Usually this is an acquired fear - either inspired by us, or arising after some event that frightened the child. Fairy tales and films reinforce this fear, populating the nighttime with all kinds of spirits, demons, vampires and other evil spirits.

Newborn babies are frightened by sharp sounds and large objects approaching them. They worry in the absence of their mother, and from 7-8 months they begin to be afraid of unfamiliar adults.

Children from 3 to 5 years old are often afraid of fairy-tale characters (Babu Yaga, Koshchei the Immortal, dragons and monsters). Having captured the child's imagination during the day, they haunt him at night. There is even an opinion that fear of Barmaley or Koshchei may indicate a child’s problems with his father, and if a child dreams of Baba Yaga, this may be a reflection of a conflict with his mother.

If you punish a child, he may be tormented by the fear of punishment, which is also reflected in nightmares.

Conflicts in the family almost always lead to children's fears.

Children who often watch TV may be afraid of the events they see there, such as a fire, war, disaster, attack, fight, etc. Fears appear in children after surgery, a serious illness, or the death of someone in the family.

By school age, old fears usually disappear, but new ones may appear - fear of getting a bad grade, being late, being the laughing stock of classmates, etc.

Sometimes parents bully their kids without thinking about the consequences. “If you don’t obey, an uncle policeman will take you away”, “Don’t make noise, otherwise Baba Yaga will come”, “Eat up, otherwise a terrible bear will carry you into the forest” - what kind of educational “masterpieces” do parents not resort to in order to influence for your child. If the baby believes you, it's terrible. So, you, the only close and beloved people, agree to give it to Baba Yaga or the bear because of half-eaten porridge? Who, besides you, will protect him? Left alone with his fear, the baby will probably be afraid of the dark and suffer from nightmares. Well, if he didn’t believe you (no matter how many times you scared him, he never met Baba Yaga, never saw a terrible bear except in the zoo, and the policeman doesn’t care about his whims), then the kid will be convinced that you lie to him to make him be obedient. He will learn for himself that it is possible to lie, and that is normal. Is this what you wanted to achieve?

Children who are sick or overprotected by their parents often suffer from fears. “Careful, you’ll fall!”, “Don’t touch the dog, he’ll bite!”, “Don’t climb, you’ll hit yourself!”, “Get dressed, you’ll catch a cold!” — aren’t we ourselves often literally instilling fear in a child and planting in his subconscious the idea that the world consists of only dangers that he, so small and weak, cannot resist!

It is especially difficult for children who have anxious, fearful parents. They pass on their fear to the child, and this is a truly difficult test for the child’s psyche.

Some mothers and grandmothers tend to tremble over the baby, watching his every step with fear, especially if the child is late, the only one and not entirely healthy. It is not surprising that constant fear will become a familiar background throughout his life and will certainly affect the baby’s sleep in the form of nightmares. (Deep-seated fear can also subsequently cause neuroses, tics, stuttering, aggressiveness and other symptoms that need to be treated.)

How to help your baby if he cries in his sleep

An interesting fact for parents is that the child’s brain does not know how to switch from sleep to reality immediately after waking up. This must be remembered when you suddenly decide to try to wake up your child and calm him down during a night tantrum. This will most likely be difficult to do, and it’s not worth it. This way you can scare the baby even more, who will perceive all the actions of adults simply as a continuation of the nightmare.

If parents are faced with a phenomenon where a child cries in his sleep due to a nightmare, then it is best for them to follow simple rules.

Don't try to wake him up. Just be there. If necessary, pick him up and simply hold him close to you. Moreover, small children often not only scream, but also try to crawl somewhere, run away and hide.
Don't get annoyed or scared yourself, try to be calm. Usually, the calmness of their parents is conveyed to children on an emotional level.
Talk to your baby in a quiet and even voice. Sing him a song or simply, swaying rhythmically with him in your arms, say: “everything is fine, mom is nearby, don’t be afraid, I’m with you.”
But if even the mother’s voice provokes even greater hysteria (and this happens if the child is disoriented, is still in a nightmare and takes the parent for a monster), then hug him silently, or quietly saying “sh-sh-sh-sh”.
After the baby calms down a little, do not leave him alone. Lie next to him until he finally falls into a restful sleep without sobbing or flinching.

What to do to improve children's sleep

Children are very emotional, so almost all parents experience nightly screaming and crying. But it is quite possible to reduce such emotional outbursts. To do this you need:

adhere to a strict daily routine and ensure that the child is not overtired or stressed, and also goes to bed at the same time;
spend the evening in a relaxed atmosphere. No active games, guests, cartoons only in doses and no computer games at night;
Make sure that your child does not watch various scary films and cartoons. You should also not read him scary bedtime stories;
prepare for bed correctly: ventilate the room, install a humidifier if necessary, adhere to the bedtime ritual (taking a bath, reading a fairy tale, stroking the back);
leave a night light on in the room - at least until the child falls asleep.
Feed your baby two hours before bedtime and try not to overfeed him. Don't let him eat a lot of sweets or drink too much liquid (especially soda);
try to devote more time to the child, even if he is not the only child in the family.

Only a patient and attentive attitude of parents towards their child will help both them and him cope with the problem of night crying.