[Guest]

My son who is almost 10 years old, has been sleepwalking off and on for quite a few years. I never thought much of them. He doesn't necessarily do it every night either. My question is how concerned should I be? My worry is that as he gets older, there might be other things that he might do that will hurt him or others. I'm worried right now about him falling down our basement stairs. His room is on the main level right next to mine and my husband's. He has never attempted to go downstairs, BUT I'm worried that he might.

He does have a mild tic disorder and his sister has a very mild case of Tourette's Syndrome. Is there any connection to that?

I'm just really concerned. I'm going to start keeping track of how often it happens and make note of the time. It seems to be after about 1 1/2-2 hours after he's gone to bed.

Any help you could give me, would be much appreciated.

[Guest]

The timing is correct, that is the usual time for sleep walking. You are correct to worry about safety. You may want to put a bell on his bedroom door so that you hear him get up and can keep him from harm. Most patients like this grow out of it. It is important for him to have proper sleep and reduce any stress in his life as these things can worsen sleep walking. I am not aware of any relationship with tics or tourette's.
[quote] My son who is almost 10 years old, has been sleepwalking off and on for quite a few years. I never thought much of them... [/quote]