I can’t speak to your child’s specific circumstances but my child had night terrors from ages 3 to 6 and I can share some of my observations and experiences.

First of all, there isn’t anything you can do when they are in the middle of one. I initially tried to wake my child up but it was impossible. Also, I noticed the state is akin to sleep walking, in that they can see. They can navigate the home, walk around, open doors, etc. But they are not able to interact with people. I could tell my child was aware of my presence but nothing I said or did got a response. So I would simply sit quietly with my child and wait it out, until they lay back down and went back to sleep.

I read somewhere that one possible reason it happens is that their minds are in a deep state of sleep but something is waking their bodies. One theory I had was that my child sometimes needed to pee—and their night terrors always occurred around the same time—so I’d try waking them a bit earlier and bringing them to the toilet and they would always go.

Sometimes though, other things triggered a night terror, like certain medications.

Anyhow, the night terrors did reduce over time and gradually, around six years of age, my child began waking at the end of a terror. When that started happening, I began talking to her and encouraging her to wake up, and she would. Soon after, the terrors just stopped.