Children’s nightmares and night terrors
Some parents have noticed that their children are having more nightmares or night terrors at the moment. There is no doubt that there have been increased levels of stress during the recent months with the Coronavirus Pandemic which may be having an effect on sleep routines. Here is a piece from the MyChild.ie website about nightmares and night terrors with some very useful tips. You can find more information about all aspects of your child’s health, well being and development at https://www2.hse.ie/my-child/ You can also check out other articles on sleep in the news section of our website http://parenthubdonegal.ie/news/
Nightmares in children
Your child will wake up during a nightmare but stay asleep during a sleep or night terror.
Nightmares and night terrors are common. Most children will grow out of them. They don’t cause any long-term psychological harm to your child.
What nightmares are
Nightmares are dreams that upset or frighten your child. They will wake up and be distressed. Your child will remember what happened in the dream when they wake.
Some children have nightmares now and again. Others have them frequently.
When children get nightmares
Nightmares are common in children aged between 6 and 10 years old, but younger and older children also have them. Toddlers might have a nightmare about being lost or separated from their parents.
Possible nightmare causes
The nightmares may be linked to something that happened during the day or a worry or fear your child has.
Worries and fears can include starting pre-school, a death in the family or fear of monsters. Some might be linked to something that has happened to a child, like getting lost or a trip to a doctor.
Older children might have a nightmare after a scary film or story, or after something frightening that happened to them.
Nightmares generally happen during the last few hours of sleep. When they wake, your child will usually tell you about the dream. They may think that the dream was real.
As your child gains confidence in dealing with problems, they tend to have fewer nightmares.
Dealing with nightmares
Reassure them
When your child wakes up from a nightmare, hold and comfort them. Sit beside them and tell them you will be nearby if they need you.
Don’t get into bed
Avoid getting in the bed beside them as this may create a sleep association. A sleep association is when your child depends on something like a parent being with them to fall asleep. Instead, leave both your and your child’s bedroom doors open so they know you are near.
Use a dim light if needed
If your child wants to have a light left on in their room, put it on the lowest setting.
Let your child have a security object like a teddy bear in the bed. This can help them feel more relaxed. Do not have toys or other items in a baby or toddler’s bed that could suffocate them.
Discuss it the next day
Try to talk to your child about the nightmare to see if you can figure out what the cause might be. This is important if your child starts having nightmares frequently.
Preventing nightmares
To try to prevent nightmares:
- encourage your child to talk to you about their fears or worries during the day
- make sure the TV programmes or videos your child watches are appropriate for their age – avoid scary content before bedtime
- avoid giving your child drinks that contain caffeine or sugar as they can cause disrupted sleep
- make sure your child is getting enough sleep – this can help reduce the frequency and intensity of nightmares
When to get help for your child
Talk to your GP or public health nurse if your child’s nightmares are very disturbing or keep happening.
Night or sleep terrors
Your child will be deeply asleep and seem very agitated if they are having a night or sleep terror. This can be distressing for parents.
Your child won’t wake up during a night terror and will have no memory of it.
Night terrors can last from 5 minutes to 30 minutes and have no effect on your child. They happen in the deepest part of sleep and usually within 1 to 2 hours of going to sleep.
What to do
During a night terror
- Do not wake your child – this may lead to more agitation.
- Keep your child safe from injury – they may move around.
After a night terror
Your child will probably have no memory of the night terror the next day.
It’s best not to talk to them about it as this may cause them more worry. It may help to have a general chat with your child to make sure there is nothing worrying them.
Preventing night terrors
Night terrors are more likely to happen if your child is not getting enough sleep.
Causes could include:
- a change in your child’s routine – for example, when they give up a nap or start pre-school
- an irregular sleep schedule (going to bed and getting up at different times each day)
- sleeping somewhere different, like a grandparent’s home, or noisy
- a fever or illness
- a full bladder
- certain medications
- stress
- another sleep disorder like snoring or sleep apnea
Make sure your child is getting enough sleep and has a regular sleep routine.
Don’t give your child caffeinated drinks. These can cause disrupted sleep, which can lead to sleep terrors.
Treatment
Most children will grow out of night terrors without needing any treatment.
Talk to your GP if your child is having night terrors a few times every night or most nights.
If your child has problems with sleep and you would like some support please contact your Public Health Nurse who is specially trained to offer guidance and tips.
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Safer Internet Day takes place next Tuesday, 7th February 2023. Sadly more than 1 in 4 young people in Ireland have experienced cyberbullying, yet only 60% of victims tell their parents. As teenagers and children spend more time on the internet, ensuring it's a safe space is ever more important. To encourage conversation about life online and help parents keep their children safe, I'd like to share a free resource created by Switcher.ie. It's a comprehensive guide which includes things like:
I thought it may be useful to share the link to the guide - https://switcher.ie/broadband/guides/how-to-keep-your-children-safe-online/ - which you can include on your website ahead of Safer Internet Day, to help parents and children who may need some extra support. We've also put together some handy top tips you can use on your website: 10 tips to keep your children safe online
- How to reduce the risks online
- How to recognise cyber bullying and grooming
- How to educate children on cyber safety
- How to set up parental controls on devices
- Talk about it:Make time to chat about online risks and how to use the internet safelyas soon as they're old enough to go online. Encourage your children to speak to you about what they view online and empower them to act if they're worried about anything.
- Recognise the risks: Educate yourself about the potential dangers children could face online so it’s easier to spot warning signs. Get to know what platforms your children use, and learn about dangers such as phishing, grooming and cyberbullying.
- Teach the do's and don'ts: Be clear about the non-negotiables. For example, teach your child not to share personal details or photos with strangers and instruct them not to click on links to unknown websites or texts. Do encourage your child to question what they see and only accept friend requests from people they know.
- Spot the signs: Pay attention to your children's behaviour whilst on and off their devices. Being alert to changes in your child can help prevent problems from escalating. Some warning signs are withdrawing from friends or family, sleeping and eating problems or losing interest in previously loved hobbies or interests.
- Set boundaries:Let your children know what they can and can't do on the internet from the get-go. Agree on what devices they can use, when, and how long they can spend online. As they get older, explaining and negotiating boundaries may be more effective.
- Take 'parental' control: These ready-made boundaries put parents in control of what children can see online. They can be set up through your internet provider at device level to block specific websites and filter out inappropriate content.
- Be social media savvy: The popularity of social media apps like TikTok and Snapchat makes it harder to keep track of what your child is accessing online. Fortunately, each social media platform has its own privacy settings and safety tips for parents. Check them out before you let children have their own accounts.
- Protect from harm:Install antivirus software on family devices to minimise the risk of cyber attacks or scams. Use two-factor authentication (2FA) for extra security on your online accounts. This can also stop children from signing into services they're not allowed to use.
- Set a great example: You're the greatest 'influencer' in your children's lives when they're young. Limiting your time online, discussing dangers you've come across, and questioning what you view can help reinforce the rules you are setting for your children and, in turn, influence their online behaviour.
- Seek support:The more you learn about online dangers, the better equipped you'll be to handle them. There are some great resources like webwise.ie, internetmatters.organd cybersafekids.ie to help you recognise and reduce online dangers and seek advice if you think your child is experiencing cyberbullying or is at risk online.
Infant Mental Health Awareness Week runs from June 13th-19th.
This week provides an opportunity to focus attention on the wellbeing, social and emotional development of our babies and young children. It highlights the importance of early relationships and a relationship based approach to interventions with infants and families. As our understanding of IMH and its evidence base develops, so also does our knowledge of how to apply this knowledge and an ‘IMH lens’ to interactions with infants, parents and caregivers in health and social services.
What is infant mental health?
Infant Mental health (IMH) refers to the healthy social and emotional development of Infants starting at conception up to three years of age.
The first 1000 days of life are recognised as a critical period of opportunity to support infant mental health. Decades of research have shown that it is the quality of the early caregiver relationship that is a significant determinant of the infant’s healthy social and emotional development and in turn physical health, right up to adulthood.
The National Healthy Childhood Programme has embedded IMH as the foundation of the development of its resources and in the approach of the delivery of the universal child health service. This embedding of key messages can be seen in the My Child suite of books (www.mychild.ie/books) and also on www.MyChild.ie where key messages around bonding and relationship building have been embedded for the parent/caregiver.
In clinical practice the topic of IMH has been included for the first time in the National Standardised Child Health Record. To build on this, the National Healthy Childhood Programme have just completed a suite of three eLearning units which are now available on HSEland for healthcare practitioners / caregivers who are working with children and families.
Throughout the week you will see videos and key IMH messaging being promoted on the HSE MyChild social media pages ( Facebook / Instagram ). Keep an eye out in the National Newspapers for articles from our experts also. (IrishTimes article)
In addition The National Healthy Childhood Programme have developed a series of ten practical videos with HSE expert advice which are now available on YouTube and on the relevant pages on the www.mychild.ie website.
These videos (2-3 minutes each) are aimed at parents/guardians of children (0 – 3 years).
These new video resources are available here while lots more expert advice for every step of pregnancy, baby and toddler health can also be found at www.mychild.ie
There are a suite of posters available focusing on the promotion of IMH messaging to order from healthy.childhood@hse.ie
