Thank you all so much for your stories - some funny, some not quite so funny . It really does put my mind at rest and realise I am not alone. Night terrors are really hard to deal with - so confusing and frustrating. The most bizarre thing is one minute he is screaming and the next he is asking for milk. Fortunately he will be sharing a pod with James so he won't wake alone, but then having said that he ends up in our bed every night at home anyway (A habit we have yet to break but that's a whole other story!!!!!!!!)
Thanks again, I'll let you know how we get on when we get back
i can sympathise with this i used to suffer these on and off as a child they returned evreynight when i was 18 that lasted for 3 months im now 31 when i went camping recently the couple in the tent next to me explained i might be woken up in the night at 3 in the morning they had a 7 year old boy they told me why i said thats no problem i then went on to explain that the samething used happen to me my nightmears woke me at 3.39am for some reason if your worried explain to the people on the site owners as well as fellow campers im sure they will understand i know i would and do. try not to worry hope this helps you kind regards mike
Wish I had asked this question before we cancelled because youngest was having really bad night terrors. They had happened constantly for a few nights and out of consideration for other campers we cancelled. I get very concerned about the noise that our children make. The screaming our youngest was making was really loud and long!!
Hope you don't cancel like we did, you'll probably end up regretting you did.
My 5 yr old only has them when he is camping.fortunately, we sleep in the same pod as him so i can normally calm him down.
The strange thing is he loves sleeping in the same room as us. He thinks the best idea in the world is to have his bed next to ours and his room will be a toyroom !
wow exide dm, must have been tough on your parents when you were 18, its hard enough with a 3yr old, can't have been good for you either - glad you're over it now though. afbowman I'm so sorry to hear your cancelled. It did cross my mind for a very short while, but the responses I have had on this site have reassured me no end, and I am now going to look forward to my hol. I hope next time you won't cancel either. They do get loud though don't they
Wow, i didn't realise this sort of thing was so common in kids, when our daughter was young she used to wake up with what i would say are night terrors, she would scream and imagine spiders crawling all over her bedroom wall, she looked genuinly terrified
We found out it was caused by colourings in food, sweets and drink, these were artificial colourings listed on the label as E102 and E110, one of them was known as sunset yellow, many companies no longer use artficial colorings now and use natural colourings (carotene) but it still crops up in some food, sweets or drinks, (yellows and oranges)
We erradicated the terrors by making sure non of these colourings were given to my daughter, not sure if it would work with all kiddies but it's worth a try, get checking those labels
Castor, good point. We too, are very careful what we feed our children. Unfortunately, these problems are quite common but all we hear is they will outgrow it.
On our last trip, my oldest got up and said he had to go to the loo and we heard the zips go on the inner tent, but not the porch zips. We kind of dozed off then we heard him come back in and thought the timing was too short. Asked him and he said he went to the loo with dad and grandad. Thing is, they had used the loo around 8pm and it was now about midnight. But he kept insisting that he did go to the loo with the guys. What freaks me out is that he could have wondered out of the tent to who knows where. There was another time when we slept with the bedrooms zipped up and he jumped out of bed clawing at the walls to get out, he was freaking out. I think that time may have been because he felt closed in, which is why we know sleep with the bedrooms open. We have to be very careful where we place our toddler so he doens't get trampled. My oldest loves his little bro and likes to sleep in the same room when camping and I feel bad that we can't let them do that. The only compromise is all of us sleeping in one bedroom and that works for us.
One major concern is proper sleep and it affecting his education. Hope he grows out of it soon.
it was tuff on my parents luckley for me they were understanding thank god these have stopped im now 31 and havent had any since then thats why i understand when im camping and some parent explaines there child has nightmares and i might be woken up i dont mind as iv been through the same thing as the child has so im understanding of the situation as im sure many outher people would be to as a child cant help this nor can an adult my parents used to explain to people when ever we went on holliday even in hotels and they were sympathetic mine were so bad at 18 i kept resetting alarm clock to wake me at 3 and then 5am used to go to work on 2 hours sleepgot used to it in the end it worked for me setting alarm as my nightmere occured at more or less the same time dont let this put you off going on holliday just tell people next to you the situation theyl understand as i did when that boys parents explained it to me when i pitched my tent that i might be woken up. just go and enjoy yourselvs and have fun hope this helps you regards mike
We were woken by an adult having a nightmare last year. Someone started screaming "Get off me. Get the F*** off me" at about 2 am. We woke up petrified, imagining a murder scene! Judging by the number of people in the loos they woke up half the site but it was obvious after a bit that it was just a nightmare. Nobody I spoke to afterwards seemed annoyed by it. Once it was apparent that nothing was wrong everyone seemed quite calm about the incident. Personally, I can forgive anything that is un-intentional, even if annoying at the time. I suffered from night terrors as a child and I still sleep badly as an adult so I would totally understand.
The most important thing is to not worry about it (easier said than done I know) but they do pick up on anxieties and I can honestly say that I would prefer to be woken by childrens noises than drunken selfish people. I dont even mind the odd loud snoring that just makes me giggle. I would say 95% of people will probably be looking at you with sympathy more than anything else if you all did happen to suffer from a childs nightmare. Your child will probably be flat out, as people have said, but If music does calm your child it would be a good idea to take an ipod (or the like) & headphones & then no-one else will be disturbed & they can go to sleep with some quiet tracks playing - it used to help me sleep when I was in my teens.
Wow, i didn't realise this sort of thing was so common in kids, when our daughter was young she used to wake up with what i would say are night terrors, she would scream and imagine spiders crawling all over her bedroom wall, she looked genuinly terrified
We found out it was caused by colourings in food, sweets and drink, these were artificial colourings listed on the label as E102 and E110, one of them was known as sunset yellow, many companies no longer use artficial colorings now and use natural colourings (carotene) but it still crops up in some food, sweets or drinks, (yellows and oranges)
We erradicated the terrors by making sure non of these colourings were given to my daughter, not sure if it would work with all kiddies but it's worth a try, get checking those labels
I'm allergic to e numbers, don't give me night terrors, but they make me irritable and 'naughty'. Was a bugger when I was little, had to carry a list with which ones I couldn't have. Was still hyperactive even without them, but they just fueled it.
Not so bad now, but they do still effect me. I can never sit still and talk and talk without taking a breath.
If I got woken by some kid crying, it wouldn't bother me at all, these things happen, and even if you haven't got kids like me, you can understand them. I mean, I don't get them, but sometimes - cos I'm scared of the dark...(slowly getting better!)...- i can throw a wobbly and just break down crying because I'm positive there is something there waiting for me. Most people will have gone through something like this in their lives. If they complain, you just have to explain, as long as the kids ok, that's all the matters.
Some reassuring words coming out here, it just makes the situation feel a bit more normal (if that is possible with night terrors). I think this thread has not only helped me but also anybody else who may be considering going camping for the first time with young children (or adults in some cases) who may have a disturbed & noisy sleep. I can't wait to get to site now and meet some lovely campers as the representation so far has been v.friendly, welcoming & reassuring.
Quote: Originally posted by Valk_scot on 26/8/2007
Children wake up crying or screaming at night on campsites. It`s just a fact of life. Anyone who`s had kids themselves will not bat an eyelid. They`ll just be glad it`s not their turn to get up, lol. And of the rest, it`s a rare person who`ll start sucking their teeth at you.,.....and they should have gone to an adult only campsite, no?
I agree with this, as just came back from 3 nites at Broadmeadow and both my son (2 years) and our friends son (same age) ended up screaming on different nights. Not one person said a thing either at night or the next morning. So don't worry
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
Topic: Worried-what if son has night terrors!!!
, some not quite so funny 
. It really does put my mind at rest and realise I am not alone. Night terrors are really hard to deal with - so confusing and frustrating. The most bizarre thing is one minute he is screaming and the next he is asking for milk
. Fortunately he will be sharing a pod with James so he won't wake alone, but then having said that he ends up in our bed every night at home anyway (A habit we have yet to break but that's a whole other story!!!!!!!!)
