sleep disorder

For the past week my 3 year old daughter has been waking up crying and saying things that don't make sense. She sees things that are not there. She gets out of bed and walks around crying and walking into walls. when we ask her "whats wrong" she says she doesn't know. We don't know what could be wrong with her. First we thought she could be sleep walking but she answers us when we talk to her. We are scared it might be something serious. Please help us!

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

This is a normal development for her age - there is nothing to worry about. You should quietly guide her back to bed without conversing with her. There is no need to ask her questions because she is not fully awake during these episodes. The goal is to get her to fall back asleep as quickly as possible without waking her up fully.