20 month old having nightmares

My 20 month old has been having nightmres on and off now for about two months.  He wont have any for a while and then for several nights in a row he has them.  He starts by saying "no,no,please,please " in his sleep while tossing and turning and then will wake up crying and screaming. and it takes me a while to get him to calm down.  Sometimes he will also say "no, please, mine." He  repeats this pattern several times throughout the night.  SOmetimes he doesnt cry when he wakes up but just sits up in his bed. Is this normal for his age?  And what would a child so young have nightmares about? I'm very concerned about this.  

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

These episodes most likely are not nightmares, but phenomena called night terrors. They are a normal development as children's sleep patterns mature, and all you need to do is gently guide the child back to sleep. Do not fully wake your son up - during these episodes he is actually not entirely awake. If you'd like to read more about such sleep phenomena, take a look at Richard Ferber's book titled Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems.

[tae22]

My son is 3 and has just started having strange episodes during the night. It has been occuring for the past 2-3 weeks, ever since my husband and I took away his soother. He usually wakes up about an hour or two after he has fallen asleep and starts talking about something he wants, but never actually says what it is, just that he wants it. If I go to him he starts to cry and will scream and even hit himself or me, but if I do nothing he will usually lay back down and it is as though nothing happened. It is like he is sleeping, but not.

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

Such partial awakenings are a normal part of development. You are correct in noticing that your son is not entirely awake - do not wake him up. Simply allow him to settle back into sleep.

[spotness]

I just have to comment.  Although night terrors are common and generally benign, they usually grow out of it around 5-7 yrs old.
As he gets older, watch a couple times to be sure it's just terrors. Night terrors do not occur during REM stage sleep.  Very complex behaviour (eg. talking in sentances+sitting, moving around; acting out dreams) is probably NOT night terrors, but REM behaviour disorder.  This would be VERY rare and highly unlikely, but it is important to be aware of the difference. If your child is moving or 'acting out dreams' during REM stage sleep (the dreaming stage) then it should be mentioned to his doctor.

oh, and PS, when you read about night terrors, u'll see that children don't normally remember having the terror, so even though they've screamed and can seem really distressed, it shouldn't affect their daytime selves.  Usually Mom and Dad that are most upset.