Do you have a 7 year old who struggles to sleep?

[opalescent]

If so please talk to me!
DD7 can be awake until (at its worst), 11.30pm. More commonly she drops off around 10.30pm. This is regardless of whether it's a school night.

She goes to bed at 8pm, so there is usually 2-3 hours of her drawing, reading, calling us, getting out of bed, needing more lights on, being scared etc etc.

If she was asleep at 10pm id be over the moon. This is not a new issue, but it's very frustrating. She has a very cosy and predictable bedtime routine, she just WILL NOT DROP OFF.
It is driving me crackers. As far as I know, she is neurotypical and is a divine, bubbly and healthy little girl 😂. School do not report any worries about tiredness, she adores school.

Do I need to do anything? Or just accept she is a night owl?

DS8 has never needed much sleep - the best routine I've found for him is to stay awake with us till around 9.30-10 (we watch a lot of documentaries) and then go to bed with rain sounds - he is usually asleep in 10mins.
He also has a magnesium gummy vitamin every evening and ideally some sort of exercise outdoors in the fresh air (much easier in summer)

Try getting her to lie down and listen to the Moshi Sleepypaws story. If she's awake when it ends just restart. It's free on YouTube and Spotify.

Still works like a charm on my nearly 10yo

Agree it’s about establishing a‘sleep time’ routine OP- I’ve had 3 of my own and 2 grandsons and it works! Let her have input into her ‘favourite’ song/pre bedtime activity (nothing too stimulating!) and head stroking hand holding etc also help as it’s the comfort she craves when she’s asking for more stories etc ….. hot water bottle works for me at 56 because it’s what my mum gave me when I was little 🤣 You can sort this!