MY 18 MONTH OLD IS AWAKENING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT CRYING AND SCREAMING. COULD HE BE HAVING NIGHTMARES?
Yes, the child at eighteen months often will experience dreams and occasionally nightmares or night terrors. If your child wakes up afraid and crying in the middle of the night, go to him and give comfort, support, and reassurance until he has calmed down. If the child seems to have frequent nightmares, talk about dreams and reassure him that everyone has them. If the nightmares become so frequent that the child is afraid to go to sleep, talk to the child’s doctor. Night terrors are episodes of nighttime awakenings during which the child is very upset, crying, screaming or kicking and thrashing. Nothing you can do will calm him down. All you can do is hold the child to prevent the child from harming himself. In most cases, nightmares and night terrors are no reason for concern and they will go away as the child gets older.
