Question: My son is a typical seven-year-old boy who is generally a happy child. However as parents my husband and I have found ourselves at a loss for what to do to help our son. At night we put him to bed between 8:30 and 9:00 PM only for him to awaken screaming, crying, and sweating, yet he can’t tell us what he’s screaming about.
He has even gotten up mumbling things that don’t make sense and stumbled back to bed, then when we ask him about it the next day he has no recollection of it ever happening. This can occur three to five nights a week, causing him to feel tired the next day and to want to go to bed earlier. I was married before to a man whose child was labeled ADHD, OCD, and odd. He dealt with many child psychologists and child protective services because the school didn’t understand his behavior. As I know the signs and symptoms of ADHD I know this not to be an issue with my son yet. I worry they could mislabel my son since so many young boys are plagued with ADHD. My son acts fine and his behavior isn’t bad, he’s just tired because it seems his body isn’t going into the sleep realm. I’ve mentioned this to his doctor before to have his sleep issues blamed on caffeine or sugar. We took him off of all caffeine and limited sugar for quite a while and it did not make a difference. I’m at a loss for what to do. Any suggestions?