Good sleep is the key to children's health. Especially when it comes to babies. Unfortunately, not every child sleeps sweetly and calmly. This leads to the fact that he does not rest, which entails serious health problems. To eliminate this possibility, you need to understand why the child screams at night. First, let's figure out what is the norm of sleep for young children.
How much does a child need to sleep
The duration of sleep depends on the age of the baby. You need to focus on such data:
- If the baby is no more than 3 months old, then the duration of his night's sleep should be from 8 to 9 hours, no less.
- When the child is already 3 months old, but not yet a year old, he needs to sleep at least 11 hours.
- If the baby is one year old, then the duration of his sleep should be about 10 hours.
These are statistics, if the duration of your baby’s sleep is slightly different from the above, then don’t worry, this is the norm. However, if the deviations are significant, and at the same time the child screams at night, because of which he does not get enough sleep, you need to pay attention to his health. Doctors identify several causes of nighttime anxiety.
The child feels health problems
This is perhaps the most common cause of nighttime anxiety. The child screams and cries at night if something hurts him. There may be many health problems. The most common of these are:
- A sore throat. Inspect the throat; if it is red, consult a doctor.
- Ear ache. Children often suffer from otitis media.
- Runny nose. If a child has a stuffy nose and cannot breathe calmly, he will begin to cry.
- Cough. If the child is constantly coughing, he will not be able to sleep.
- Pain in the abdomen. Most often, the resulting colic contribute to this. This reason can be eliminated by one of the methods: put a warm film on the baby’s tummy, stroke it clockwise, or let the child drink tea with fennel.
Another common reason that a child wakes up at night and screams is commonplace discomfort.
The child feels uncomfortable
If you are sure that the child is feeling well and has no health problems, then pay attention to the conditions that surround him. Perhaps the reasons for crying are as follows:
- The child is cold. Dress your baby according to room temperature.
- The baby is too hot. Often, caring mothers bundle the children in such a way that they feel hot and cannot fall asleep. Do not overheat.
- The kid wants to eat or drink. This is especially true if the child is a month old. He screams at night because he is not used to eating on a schedule. In this case, it should be fed, but in the future, try to wean the baby from nightly meals.
- The baby has a wet diaper or sheet. The baby’s clothes and bedding should always be dry.
One of the most unpleasant causes of childhood anxiety is nightly fears.
Baby night fears
There is another explanation for the fact that the child screams at night. Often mothers go to bed and lay the baby next to them. After the child falls asleep, they transfer him to the crib. When the baby wakes up, he finds himself in a new place, and there is no mother next to him. Because of this, he begins to cry.
Each mother must decide for herself what to do in such situations. A good solution is to sleep with your baby. He will feel safe, and for women, joint sleep is useful, because it stimulates the lactation process.
However, doctors are advised to choose a different path. So that you can sleep, it’s much better and better to fulfill your household duties, teach your baby to fall asleep on his own. This is not easy, but you will like the result. You should put the baby to bed, and do not approach him during the night. If the baby cries, you need to either endure this moment, or very quickly calm the baby and leave. Over time, you completely stop hearing night crying. And the child will become more independent and less vulnerable.
But remember, this method is only good if it is a matter of nightly fears. If a child has health problems or is uncomfortable, his cries can not be ignored in any case.
Another common cause of night shouts is banal overexcitation.
Overexcitation in the evening
If in the evening you are actively playing with your child, watching TV with a strong sound or just talking loudly, then do not be surprised that the child screams at night.
Children who are awake at bedtime usually cry at night loudly and for a long time. To prevent this, you need to change the evening atmosphere in your home.
In the evening, try to organize silence. In a child, this period should be associated with calm and peace. If he falls asleep in a calm state, then he will also sleep for the whole night.
The last cause of nightly anxiety is problems with child psychology.
Psychological reasons for crying at night
Do not underestimate children's intelligence. The child understands perfectly well if his parents have problems in relationships, they are upset, angry. He also sees that you are not paying him enough attention. Due to lack of love, the baby may cry in a dream.
A child screams every night if he has problems with the nervous system. Increased children's irritability is a signal that the baby should be regularly shown to a neurologist. This will help not only to normalize sleep, but also to avoid health problems in the future.
Remember that a calm environment without quarrels and scandals has a positive effect on the baby and allows him to sleep without worrying about his parents.
Also, if the child does not sleep, screams at night, perhaps he simply overworkes during the day.
Overwork as a cause of crying
Overfatigue and overexcitation are somewhat related causes. The child may get tired if you had guests, new pets appeared, or even if you are doing things unusual for the baby. Any new impressions leave a mark on the children's psyche, and infants are still too weak to withstand such an emotional load. When a child is overworked, he cannot sleep peacefully at night.
In this case, do one of the rituals:
- Create a twilight room and a quiet environment.
- Bathe your baby in a bath with soothing herbs.
- Sing your baby a lullaby.
You need to do everything possible so that the child will forget about the hustle and psychologically tuned into a productive dream.
What if a two year old baby screams at night
Usually parents sigh with relief when the baby is two years old, because he stops torturing adults with his cries at night. But sometimes it happens that the problems do not end there. In this case, the child is hard to calm down, and his cry is so loud that it affects the psyche of the parents. Usually this happens with choleric children, that is, with children who are distinguished by an impressionable character and increased emotionality. Doctors advise taking such measures:
- Do not clarify the relationship with the child.
- Protect it from modern gadgets.
- Up to 3 years, it is advisable not to allow the baby to watch cartoons.
- Take time out with trips to the circus, cinema or even to the puppet theater.
- Practice soothing baths before bedtime.
- Provide your child with pet communication.
- Accustom your child to calm exercises. It can be drawing, modeling or application.
If your efforts were in vain, take your child to a child psychologist to get advice and direct your actions in the right direction.
Baby screams at night have prerequisites. If you figure out what is the cause of the anxiety, you will quickly be able to normalize the baby’s sleep and your psychological state.