It does sound like night terrors. My second has them and it's upsetting. But I think it's pretty common and relatively normal. Which doesn't make it easy.

We dealt with occasional night terrors with DD, starting around 2yo. The last one she had was months ago, around 3.5.
No idea what triggered them. Diet didn't seem to matter, activity during the day didn't seem to matter, amount of sleep, illness...no real connection to anything. The first time she had one, I was absolutely terrified, because NOTHING worked to snap her out of it, and I had no idea what it was.

Possibly night terrors:
https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/terrors.html

If it’s a night terror, don’t wake them:
https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/preschool/Pages/Nightmares-and-Night-Terrors.aspx

Night terrors. My kid had them off and on from 4-5. Several a night on bad nights. No rhyme or reason and eventually, they stopped.

I've had two with night terrors, peaked around age 6, almost entirely gone by 8. Both children would scream, cry, seem wide awake (one of them would talk to us), would walk etc. Seemed to be classic night-terrors (usually around 11/12pm but the oddtime at 2am or so), no recollection whatsoever in the morning. Our pediatrician reassured us and I did my own research on night terrors - they both seemed to grow out of them without any illeffects although it is horrific as a parent to see.

If they're screaming at something over your shoulder etc, it's night terrors. I used to tell my kid who had them things like, "Here, take your pillow! Hold onto it!' and he would do it, or walk him around the room, even though he was on another planet.

It's so deeply disturbing to watch them go through this. You can understand why some people believe in demonic possession.

Anonymous wrote:Re the PP: it's not sleepwalking, it's spontaneous, inconsolable meltdowns, sometimes up to 30 minutes long.

Night terrors. Does your kid drink soda? NO SODA.

DC is 4.5 with a history of sleep resistance. It's beyond strange - the episodes are very upsetting and wreck everyone's sleep for the night.

How old is your child? One of our twins had night terrors around age 2. So strange. She would talk and cry and say things so it seemed like she was awake, but I couldn't comfort her. She would say "No Mommy!" and things like that. One night she had one and I brought her into our bedroom so she didn't wake her sister. She was crying and fussing for a while and then I went in the bathroom for a minute, and I came back, and she was like "oh hi Mommy" and was her normal self. Then I realize she was still asleep during the other ones. She grew out of them by age 3.

Anonymous wrote:No, I'm not sure of anything. But it happens all times of night and in the morning sometimes, and terrors are supposedly only in the first part of the night because of the REM cycle.

Well, if his rhythm is off, he may be entering REM more than once. Maybe consider a sleep study.

No, I'm not sure of anything. But it happens all times of night and in the morning sometimes, and terrors are supposedly only in the first part of the night because of the REM cycle.

Are you sure it’s not night terrors?

Re the PP: it's not sleepwalking, it's spontaneous, inconsolable meltdowns, sometimes up to 30 minutes long.

What disturbance? I have a sleep walker and can offer suggestions.

Did you find any good resources that helped: websites, books, or a specialist you went to?

Pediatrician has not been very helpful and seems out of their depth on sleep stuff. I'm working on getting specialist reccos but would be helpful to get advice from other parents who have BTDT.

Thanks!