5 Yr old suddenly fighting sleep.

[ElspethFlashman]

Posting here for traffic.

5 Yr old was always a very reliable sleeper. Went to sleep fairly quickly and slept like a log.
Recently he just won't go to sleep.

Right now it's 9.44 and he's still in his room chatting away to himself.

He goes to bed at 7.30, story, lights out at 8. So right now he's been singing and talking to himself for almost 2 hours.

He doesn't really ask for stuff and only comes out of his room to pee (though we have to follow him into the bathroom pretty quickly as otherwise he'll stay in there all night playing with the bath toys)

Basically this has suddenly turned into playtime for him. Just his imagination, as its dark other than night light. Driving me crazy!

Is this a normal phase or do we have to really nip this in the bud somehow?

I think I’d let him chat to himself/sing/fidget for about half an hour, and after that I’d be firm and ask him to settle down. At first, briefly explain why he needs sleep.
Does he have any screen time before bed? The blue light that’s emitted by devices can prevent the body’s natural release of melatonin.
Or it could be that he needs more time to wind down each evening. You could increase the time he spends, for example, having a warm bath, stories, quiet games etc... I’ve found that the most sleep-inducing stories are those that involve counting or repetition and lull the dc to sleep.
Try a special clock with visual clues. The Stoplight Alarm Clock has stoplight when it’s time to sleep (red light), and when it’s time to wake up (green light.) You can set the time for bedtime.
Let him listen to soft music or a gentle audiobook when he gets into bed. He’ll be more likely to lie there and listen to it and eventually nod off. It also acts as white noise and blocks out sounds of you moving about the rest of the house.
Also try a glass of warm milk.
I have heard of a technique called bedtime fading where you could start by setting the bedtime at the time he usually falls asleep and gradually make the bedtime earlier. If, for example, he usually does not fall asleep until 10:30, choose 10:30 as his temporary bedtime. This will make it easier to teach him how to fall asleep within a short time of getting into bed. Once he is falling asleep easily and quickly at his temporary bedtime you can then start making his bedtime earlier 15 minutes every few days.