There are rumours that abound about it being dangerous to wake anyone who is sleepwalking – adult or child. The truth is that it is not dangerous to wake your child, although he or she is likely to be disoriented, and not very happy, if you do!
Most children sleepwalk early, and it’s usually easy for you to guide your child back to bed without having to wake him or her. However, since there’s no guarantee that your child will sleepwalk while you’re still awake, it’s important that you take safety precautions to prevent any potential injury.
Remove any potential obstacles, like toys or books, from the floor before your child goes to bed. This will prevent your child from tripping over them and falling.
Make sure that you have gates at the top of stairs, or on your child’s bedroom door.
If your child sleeps with the door ajar, try fitting it with a bell, that will ring and alert you when your child gets up.
It may not be something that many parents talk about, but sleepwalking is fairly common – around 15 percent of children will sleepwalk at least once, and between three and four percent will make it a regular night time event!
It’s been shown that children are more likely to sleepwalk when they are feverish, overtired or nervous, so use that as your cue if your child is prone to this problem.
Most children sleepwalk early, and it’s usually easy for you to guide your child back to bed without having to wake him or her. However, since there’s no guarantee that your child will sleepwalk while you’re still awake, it’s important that you take safety precautions to prevent any potential injury.
Remove any potential obstacles, like toys or books, from the floor before your child goes to bed. This will prevent your child from tripping over them and falling.
Make sure that you have gates at the top of stairs, or on your child’s bedroom door.
If your child sleeps with the door ajar, try fitting it with a bell, that will ring and alert you when your child gets up.
It may not be something that many parents talk about, but sleepwalking is fairly common – around 15 percent of children will sleepwalk at least once, and between three and four percent will make it a regular night time event!
It’s been shown that children are more likely to sleepwalk when they are feverish, overtired or nervous, so use that as your cue if your child is prone to this problem.
