Tips for Parents of Kids who Sleepwalk

Sleepwalking may disrupt a child’s sleeping pattern and cause anxiety to parents but there is no need to panic as this habit is shed in the teens. The main thing is to ensure the safety of the child
Tips for Parents of Kids who Sleepwalk

PARENTING COLUMN

Try not to wake a sleepwalker because this might scare your child. Instead, gently guide him or her back to bed. Lock the windows and doors, in your child's bedroom and throughout your home, in case your young sleepwalker decides to wander. You may consider extra locks or child safety locks on doors. Keep keys out of reach for kids who are old enough to drive. To prevent falls, don't let your sleepwalker sleep in a bunk bed.

Sleepwalking tends to be common in kids. However, kids who pick up a habit of walking in their sleep eventually grow out of it in their teen years.

Kids may sleepwalk within an hour or two of falling asleep. The duration of their walking can be anywhere from 30 secs to 30 minutes. Waking up a child who is sleepwalking is difficult. Even when they are awakened, they may feel groggy and disoriented for a few minutes.

Sleepwalking is more than just walking. A child who is sleepwalking may pick up harmless behaviours like sitting up or even potentially dangerous behaviours such as wandering outside. Some behaviours can also be inappropriate like opening a closet door and peeing inside. The interesting thing is that kids who sleepwalk most likely won't remember the things that they do while sleepwalking. However, as a parent you can still keep your young ones safe by following some simple steps.

Causes

Sleepwalking may run in families. So, your child may end up as a sleepwalker if you or your partner or anyone in you or your partner's family was a sleepwalker.

Lack of sleep or fatigue,irregular sleep schedules,illness or fever,stress from medicines are some things that may lead to sleepwalking episodes.

Symptoms

Apart from sleepwalking your child may also sleeptalk, be hard to wake up, seem dazed, be clumsy, not respond when spoken to, sit up in bed and go through repeated motions, such as rubbing their eyes or fussing with their pyjamas.

It is to be noted that sleepwalkers' eyes are open, but they don't see the same way they do when they're awake. Often, they think they're in different rooms of the house or different places altogether.

Some other conditions that sleepwalkers may show are sleep apnea (brief pauses in breathing while sleeping), bedwetting (enuresis), night terrors.

Sleepwalking is harmful as kids aren't awake and may not realise what they're doing. They may walk down stairs or opening windows and hurt themselves.

Sleepwalking doesn't mean that something is emotionally or psychologically wrong with a child. And it doesn't cause any emotional harm.

How to Keep a Sleepwalker Safe

Try not to wake a sleepwalker because this might scare your child. Instead, gently guide him or her back to bed. Lock the windows and doors, in your child's bedroom and throughout your home, in case your young sleepwalker decides to wander. You may consider extra locks or child safety locks on doors. Keep keys out of reach for kids who are old enough to drive. To prevent falls, don't let your sleepwalker sleep in a bunk bed. Remove sharp or breakable things from around your child's bed. Keep dangerous objects out of reach. Remove obstacles from your child's room and throughout your home to prevent a stumble. Get rid of clutter on the floor (in your child's bedroom or playroom).

Install safety gates outside your child's room and/or at the top of any stairs.

Prevention

Have your child relax at bedtime by listening to soft music or relaxation tapes. Establish a regular sleep and nap schedule and stick to it — both nighttime and wake-up time. Make your child's bedtime earlier. This can improve excessive sleepiness. Don't let kids drink a lot in the evening and be sure they go to the bathroom before going to bed. (A full bladder can contribute to sleepwalking.) Avoid caffeine near bedtime. Make sure your child's bedroom is quiet, cosy, and comfortable for sleeping. Keep the noise down while kids are trying to sleep (at bedtime and naptime). When you see your nighttime wanderer the next time on his ventures, don't panic. Just guide your child back to the safety and to the comfort of his or her bed.

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