MY daughter CRIES alot,she is 2 1/2.Anybody elses??She just SCREAMS..in the middle of the night:(

April - posted on 03/25/2009

She may be crying out of frustration at not being able to express herself verbally. I used some sign language with my boys because I couldn't stand the screaming. I just used a few common words that I thought they'd use often, like "more", "juice", "banana", etc. 

Could the night screaming be Night terrors? My two year just started having these. They're terrible!

April - posted on 03/25/2009

She may be crying out of frustration at not being able to express herself verbally. I used some sign language with my boys because I couldn't stand the screaming. I just used a few common words that I thought they'd use often, like "more", "juice", "banana", etc. 

Could the night screaming be Night terrors? My two year just started having these. They're terrible!

Stephanie - posted on 03/25/2009

Do you go to her when she screams? In the middle of the night, do you come to her room and pick her up? The question is...is she doing it to get you to do something or is she doing it because she is having night terrors or something. If you go to her when she does this in the middle of the night, start by only going in there and touching her back (don't pick her up) and let her know it's ok by calmly soothing her, then immediately leave. Then the next night if she does it just go in the room close to her bed but don't touch her, speak soothing words for a minute or so, then quickly leave (do not go back in the room). Then the next night just stand in the doorway for a few minutes, say nothing, stay for a minute or so and then leave and do not go back into the room. After this, do not go into the room at all. It's ok to open the door and poke your head in to be sure she is not in distress but the more you interact with her, the more the behavior will continue. If she doesn't get enough sleep, it can make her more crabby during the day and more prone to the screaming fits. Trust me. This works like a charm. We received this advice from a psychologist. Our son sleeps through the night, every single night and has since we started this when he was 6 months old. Once in a while he reverts and has a hard time and we just let him know it's ok and walk out and he goes back to sleep. Good luck!

Jennifer - posted on 03/25/2009

She may be testing you. Don't give in to her when she screams. My son does the same thing and a lot of it stems from frustration and not being able to communicate effectively. I don't give him what he wants until he stops screaming. I sit him on the sofa until he stops or I will try and distract him and that sometimes helps. Most of all I ignore him while he is acting that way. Once I put him on the sofa I walk away. I don't want to reinforce the behavior by giving him too much attention. I have noticed that the screaming doesn't last as long if I ignore it. He eventually gives up and once he is calm I will give him what he wants.

Angela - posted on 03/25/2009

I have a 2 y old son. he used to scream a lot too. i think the screaming during the day is def frustration but also temper. dont give in to her when she screams. telll her to stop screaming and you will give her what she wants.. or make her say the words. ( i dnt know how much she talks)  if you give in to her when she screams, shes gonn akeep doing it because she knows she can.

at night im not sure. prob just to get attention from you. if you check on her and shes fine as soon as you go in there. then shes fine and just wants attention.

but if its in the middle of the night and shes waking up from a sleep, it could be a nightmare. just let her know its ok and try to get her back to sleep. maybe give her some water in a cup or read her a story.