13 yr. old daughter with troubeling sleepwalking incidents

[to Felecia from Joyce]

My daughter sleepwalks off and on. Recently she has been doing strange things and I'm not sure if I should be too concerned. About a year ago I asked her pediatrician about this and she told me that she should out grow it. Last night she woke me up to tell me she did something really stupid, it seems she got out of bed went into her closet took the lid off of a rubbermaid container that was housing some out of season clothes and a few arts and crafts materials, pulled down her pj.'s and went to the bathroom all over everything. She urinated and had a bowel movement. She apparently woke up at some point realized what she'd done and cleaned herself up. I came downstairs and helped her with the rest of the clean up. I could tell she was very embarresed about what she had done. she also is very worried about what other things she might do in the future. Last night my husband came home shortly after she went back to bed and I told him what just happened. He was concerned also. From now on I feel we should dead lock the doors at night so she won't leave the house. Are we missing something here? She is a very sweet girl the oldest of 5 and an honor roll student. She gets along great with everyone and everyone loves her to pieces. Please help! We just want to make sure there isn't something we are missing in this picture.
                       Thanks,
                        Joyce

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

Dear Joyce,

Sleepwalking is one form of sudden partial wakings that occur at the end of a cycle of non-REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. The state is one of being partially asleep and partially awake. Such partial wakings in young children are viewed as a normal part of development and do not require any specialized intervention as a rule.

When such episodes happen in later childhood or adolescence, they can be viewed as psychological in nature more than developmental. They sometimes occur as the result of stress, though sometimes the person is not particularly aware of the stress.

Therapy can be considered, but it's not absolutely necessary. If your daughter is doing well, if the episodes don't occur very often and don't really pose any danger, you needn't pursue specialized intervention. But if she's been under stress or has some recent worries, a brief course of therapy may be useful. In any case, the episodes needn't be the source of any great alarm.

[Joyce]

Thank you for your quick response. I will say just one thing now that you mentioned it, she is trying very hard to beat out others in her class to recieve a scholorship to a private high school. I suppose I should let her know if she doesn't get one, we won't be dissapointed. I thought she knew that. I hope it all ends soon.
I never like to rush into anything so we will give it more time before making any decisions about therapy. Is it a good idea for someone her age to have other outlets besides thier parents to talk to about thier feelings? What I mean is do children need to make a break of sorts from thier parents to help them mature and feel more in control of what they feel are private matters that they may not want to talk to us about?

                   Thanks again,
                         Joyce

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

Dear Joyce,

Kids vary re: their preferences for discussion, of course, but in general children of this age do like to have some other outlets as they take gradual steps toward autonomy. Often they find such outlets in their friends, and often confide in friends in a way that's different from the way they may confide in parents.

I think you're taking the correct course - there's no need to rush into therapy. It sounds like you may have put your finger on a possible source of stress. You'll help your daughter by giving her the kind of reassurance you mentioned.