It may be very often you find your child hovering around the house in the middle of the night, doing strange things. Their eyes are open, but they don’t see the same way they do when they’re awake.

In the morning when he or she wakes up they don’t remember anything. How is that possible you say to them? But in fact they don’t… They were sleepwalking.

Researchers say that about 10% to 15% of the kids sleepwalk and are between the ages of 3 years and 10 years old.

So why does your child Sleepwalk? There could be many reasons for this.

Sleepwalking occurs if it runs in families, so if you or your partner are or were sleepwalkers, your child may be too. Other factors that could bring about sleepwalking in your child could be

•lack of sleep or fatigue

•irregular sleep schedules

•illness or fever

•stress (it could be that your child is feeling stressed about something that happened in school) 

If your chid is sleep walking, then please bear in mind that you should not try to wake the child up. Just lead him to his bed and gently put him/her back to sleep.  

Please lock all the doors and windows at night throughout your home, in case your young sleepwalker decides to wander. You may consider extra locks or child safety locks on doors. Car keys should be kept out of reach for children who are old enough to drive.

If your child sleepwalks then please make sure that he/she is not sleeping on the top part of the bunk bed. This is important and special mention of this should be made if your child is going on overnight school trips.

Remove all sharp or breakable things from around your child’s bed and keep them out of your child’s reach.

These small steps will ensure your child’s safety at night.

So what is it that you can do so that your child manages to control his sleepwalking

1.       Get your child into a regular bed time routine and stick to it- both for sleep-time and wake-up time.

2.       Try and make your child’s bedtime earlier than it is even its by half hour. This can improve excessive sleepiness.

3.       Don’t let kids drink a lot in the evening and be sure they go to the bathroom before going to bed. (A full bladder can contribute to sleepwalking.)

4.       Make your child’s bedroom is quiet, cozy, and conducive to sleeping. Keep noise to a minimum while they are trying to sleep. 

And lastly Hypnosis has been found to be helpful for children who sleep walk.