Everyone said,,,,,"when she starts school she will need lots of sleep" YEAH RIGHT. Sick of my 5.8yo being awake til 10 every night

[CountessDracula]

really really really sick of it

She is a good girl, she stays in her room but I can't relax with her thumping about and playing and having to get up every 10 mins and try and get her to go to bed.

She is just NOT tired

She gets up between 7 and 8

[CountessDracula]

oh and today

She got up at 7.15
Went to school
had PE
went to ballet after school
we played swingball for half an hour and went to the park and ran around a lot with the dog

[LurkerOfTheUniverse]

i could have written that!

my dd is the same age as yours, she didn't get to sleep until 12:30am yesterday!

[CountessDracula]

You have my sincere commiserations

It's great on holiday
but shit at all other times

Does it drive you mad too?

[yogabird]

same age as mine. It might help when she can read a bit better. I gove dd a stack of books and she reads/looks at pictures. I go up and put out the light sometimes but often just leave her and get stuck in to a bit of gardening or something to occupy me and that avoids the stress for me.

[CountessDracula]

She can read perfectly
She is reading cinderella to her animals right now

[BoysAreLikeDogs]

Okay.

Have you thought about:

Making her room more boring/less interesting

Ignoring - if she knows you are going to pop your head around the door every ten minutes or so then there is an incentive to keep herself awake

establishing a new bedtime routine rather like when they were much younger - bath/milk/teeth/story/bed

Would she respond to a sticker sytem do you think ?

[Anna8888]

I don't want to hear this, CountessDracula

My daughter goes to bed at 10.30 or 11 most nights, and gets up just before 8, for school at 9 am.

My downstairs neighbour yesterday threatened to call the police because my daughter's running about in the evening prevents her children from sleeping. I calmed the neighbour down by saying that I was hoping my daughter would need more sleep when she goes to school all day from September...

[gothicmama]

CD I have no words of comfort for you excepttry to relax about the noise dd 7.5 is the same and has been since very little, although now she is older noise is less of a problem but she wants to stay up with us cos she is nearly grown up

[LurkerOfTheUniverse]

totally.

I don't think she can switch her brain off. Again, dosen't matter how active she is, she just won't sleep.

Mind you, she's been like this since a baby, which is why she is still an only

[CountessDracula]

I could put her to bed in the cell next door that's a thought
She might get stuck into the wine then though

have tried sticker charts, ignoring, shouting, begging, crying etc

[CountessDracula]

sorry Anna!

When she started half days for a term all the other kids were falling like flies and sobbing by lunchtime
Mine came bolting out like a rabbit on speed.

When they started full days it was carnage
Apart from mine

argh

[LurkerOfTheUniverse]

dd has the same routine every night

she's too sassy for sticky charts

she can also read well, I think that's the problem, she wanted to practice phonics instead of having a story tonight

god, my child is a nerd

[Anna8888]

[hands over ears eyes emoticon]

[yogabird]

sorry, I didn't mean that she was behind at school or a slow learner or anything - just that as she becomes more fluent there may be books that will hold her interest more because of their length / complexity and she may, more like an adult get into reading as part of her own bedtime routine and come to enjoy it and then be quiet and still and worry you less.

It is my mission to never offend on here and if I did, then I am sorry, countess.

[CountessDracula]

Oh god no you didn't at all!
I didn't take it that way but I can see how my reply may have seemed like I did, sorry

[tori32]

If she is good tempered during the day then she obviously doesn't need it. However, just because a child appears energetic doesn't mean they aren't tired. Some children are past tired by then, especially if they regularly go to bed late. 10-12hrs is recommended.
I would remove everything from her room. Have her choose 1 book to read in bed. If she gets out of bed she misses something she likes. I would also get a lamp/reading light she can switch off without getting out of bed.
Definately no TV/video games/toys.
Check her diet, check hidden E numbers, especially strawberry flavourings/colourings.

[yogabird]

phew!

[Sanctuary]

DS went through this when he startd school we tried everything lavender baths ,lavender on his pillow,activities after school BLACKMAIL.
Even went to the docters

It lasted what felt like a lifetime then it just stopped .Don`t know why it just did

Every kid is different some need more sleep than others.And they all go through this stage
A friend of mine is going through it now with Twins

[gothicmama]

tori 32 I tried all of that with dd, if she is tired she will sleep earlier otherwise it is about 10 pm and she is up at 7am so about 9 hours a night sleep, when she was at nursery she was the only one awake at afternoon nap times which the staff managed well

[Yurtgirl]

CD do you think she needs to sleep for longer?
Does she cope perfectly well on the amount of sleep she does get?

[CountessDracula]

OK
I can't move everything from her room but she could sleep in another room

She has a lamp she can switch off

She doesn't watch tv in the week or play any games on computers etc (I wouldn't have a clue!)

After school today she had

A nut and date bar (Dorset cereals one, no additives)
An apple

A salad for supper of tomato, cucumber, avocado, parmesan, ham, raw carrot, wholemeal bread and butter

Raspberries, blackberries and natural yoghurt for pud

A glass of milk

Her school has great food, no additive etc

[madness]

even if "things are taken away to make it boring" ds will just lay in bed with his eyes wide open and stare at the walls/ceiling....

[CountessDracula]

Oh she is as happy as larry
I think she just doesn't need much sleep
either that or she has a secret espresso habit

[Sanctuary]

Wish I had that energy anytime of the day
I missed loads of evenings sitting on the top stairs cos he kept coming out of his room trying to get him back in his room and to bed.

[WideWebWitch]

Does she bother you? I mean do you have to go and talk to her or anything? Because if not I'd just let her play until she's tired.