Does anyone know of any relaxation techniques for children?

[Meid]

My DD has always had trouble getting to sleep. Even as a baby it would often take her hours.

Now she is 5 and I'm realising that to sometimes take 90 minutes to fall asleep - when she's absolutely shattered - is not right.

Does anyone have any ideas on what I can do to relax her at bedtime to get her to sleep quicker?

I was thinking maybe relaxation tapes, but don't know of any for children.

We do have a good routine and structure to the evening.

Many thanks.

meid

[MarsLady]

I can recommend a fantastic book that worked for me and my DTs (darling twins).

Solve your child's sleep problems Brilliant book!

[BellaVictoria]

do you do the same exact routine every single night? I've read and have realized with our 2 year old that this helps. Our routine is eat, bath, full body massage with a lavender lotion and soft music on......while I massage or right before I leave the room, I spend 5 minutes going over who's going to sleep also...like the sun, the clouds, her basketball, her grandmothers, etc......maybe that'll help.

[Meid]

Thank you Marslady for the book recommendation. I'll look into that definitely.

BellaVictoria, yes we've had the same routine with her for as long as I can remember. We don't go as far as a massage, but she has lavender in her bath then we go to the bedroom and talk softly about the day and discuss what she can dream that night. Its always been the same, and she's always been the same. The only 'problem' is that sometimes my DH is home late and disturbs bedtime. But these days that doesn't happen so often and really if she was tired she would sleep. At 8pm she looks shattered, but behaves like she could go for another few hours (and she could).