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My small one, 4 years old, is having a lot of nightmares. Is it normal at her age?
Mar 12, 2013
2nd opinion

Dr. Judy Matta Pediatrics
Children frequently experience nightmares and night terrors which are 2 different entities.Nightmares are frightening dreams that occur in the second half of sleep during REM .It affects girls and boys equally and most often occur between 3-6 years but can occur at any age. With nightmares, the child awakens from sleep and usually has vague or distinct recollection of the dream. It is not associated with emotional problems but may reflect inner fears surfacing in the dreams. The contents of the nightmares usually relates to developmental challenges: toddlers may have nightmares about separation from their parents, preschoolers about monsters or the dark and school-aged children about death and real dangers. Violent TV shows and nightmares may cause frequent nightmares. When your child wakes up after a nightmare, comfort her, explain to her that she has been having a bad dream.Provide a night light, especially if your child has fear from the dark. Avoid violent movies and TV shows.
Night Terrors is when your child appears to be awake and upset, perhaps screaming and kicking in bed, eyes wide open and terrified, but he/she won’t respond to you. In this case, he’s neither awake nor having a nightmare. Night terrors can start as early as 18 months and peak at ages 5 -7 years and resolves in adolescence. It occurs during non-REM sleep during stages 3-4 often between 15-90 min after falling asleep.Night terrors last for about 5-10 minutes but can last up to 45 min and the child is usually able to easily fall back asleep because they actually have not been awake. Unlike a nightmare, a child will not remember a night terror. It often occurs when the child has fever, disrupted sleep schedule, stress, or sleeping in a new environment.Increasing sleep time will help reduce the likelihood of a night terror.
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Dr. Mostafa Odeh Psychiatry
Yes, but we have to look for daytime anxieties and/or frightening T.V programs in the evening as contributory factors.
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