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Child Behavior (Expert Forum)
20 month old child screams and cries all night.
Answered by
Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D. - Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy, Family Therapy, Crisis Intervention
Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates
This forum is for questions and support regarding child behavior issues such: Child Discipline (behavior management), Normal Child Development, Parent-Child Communications, Social Development
20 month old child screams and cries all night.
by Ashley, Oct 12, 2000 12:00AM
I am a 26 year old adolescent counselor. A friend of mine has a 20month old daughter who is active and verbal and cheerful during the day. She goes to bed without any problems then begins to cry about an hour after she is put to bed. The crying is intense and borders on screaming. She often has her eyes closed while she is crying and does not respond to questions. For example, her mother will ask her what is wrong or why is she crying and to this she continues to cry. This goes on literally all night at approximately half hour intervals. This is also every night of the week and there appears to be no consoling her. Physical touch nor her mother's voice seem to have any effect on her crying. Are these the symtoms of something specific or should she take her daughter to see a specialist? Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Ashley Taylor
Sincerely,
Ashley Taylor
Doctor's Answer
by Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D., Oct 13, 2000 12:00AM
, Oct 13, 2000 12:00AM
Dear Ms. Taylor,
In order to rule out any medical problem, particularly gastrointestinal in nature, the child's pediatrician should be consulted. This will also allow for review of the mother's habits around feeding and nighttime behavior. It is most likely that this does not represent any serious illness or condition, but rather falls in the broad category of behavioral or parent/child interaction in nature. It is very likely that your friend is unwittingly reinforcing the behavior by attending to it in the way she does. If it turns out that her daughter is medically fine, and this will probably be the case, your friend will have to bite the bullet, so to speak, and not attend to her daughter at the times of crying. This can be hard on a parent, but definitely pays off. First things first, though, and that means to start with a visit to the pediatrician.
In order to rule out any medical problem, particularly gastrointestinal in nature, the child's pediatrician should be consulted. This will also allow for review of the mother's habits around feeding and nighttime behavior. It is most likely that this does not represent any serious illness or condition, but rather falls in the broad category of behavioral or parent/child interaction in nature. It is very likely that your friend is unwittingly reinforcing the behavior by attending to it in the way she does. If it turns out that her daughter is medically fine, and this will probably be the case, your friend will have to bite the bullet, so to speak, and not attend to her daughter at the times of crying. This can be hard on a parent, but definitely pays off. First things first, though, and that means to start with a visit to the pediatrician.
