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| |    Sleepwalking by Dr. Benjamin Spock reviewed by Robert Needlman, M.D., F.A.A.P. Like night terrors, sleepwalking seems to be due to a temporary disturbance in the nervous system during deep sleep. Sleepwalking tends to run in families and in the great majority of cases disappears within a few months or years without any special treatment. A child who sleepwalks has a glassy stare and garbled speech, but she can usually clumsily complete some purposeful activities. For example, children have been known to urinate into wastebaskets, thinking they were using the bathroom. Children never remember sleepwalking. What you can do If you catch your child sleepwalking, firmly lead her back to bed, reassuring her that she'll go right back to sleep and that you'll stay with her until she does. If she is a real wanderer--some walk out-of-doors and even get into dangerous situations--you need some way to tell when she is sleepwalking. A bell or buzzer on her bedroom door can help. Occasionally, some parents need to lock the door from the outside to protect their child from danger. If your child sleepwalks at about the same time each night, try waking her a few minutes before. There is a good chance she will not sleepwalk later that night. For the occasional child who sleepwalks often or gets into physical danger while sleepwalking, a doctor can prescribe the same bedtime medicine that's used for night terrors. The medicine is effective and is usually needed for only several days or weeks. Talk about:
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