To think it should not take THIS long...

[1MillionSelfiesTakenByMyKids]

Been trying to get my son to sleep for two hours now. For full disclosure he is not a baby. He is 7. He used to crash out ast the end of the day but is going to sleeo later and later whilst still obviously Neff the sane amount of sleep. The last few nights he's beeb up until past 10pm so o thought I'd try lying with him to get him to settle a d check he wasn't reading or anything. We've listened to meditation stuff as s then lain in the dark an d quiet for TWO HOURS while he yawns and rubs his eyes yet is not falling asleep. I don't know what he's running oon in. I had the sane amount of sleep as him last night and I'm exhausted. Dh and I are getting concerned now. His emotional wellbeing, concentration and general heath are all suffering.

Just needed to vent really. Stuck here. In the dark. Bored and worrying

it's normal to transition to later bedtimes this age.
however: have you asked him why he is not sleeping? is he worried about something? too cold? too warm? too full tummy? hungry?

tbh a 6pm bedtime for a 7yo is bonkers unless you need to get up at 5am...

So he went to bed at 6pm? That seems very early for a 7 year old to be honest. I’d expect them to be starting a wind down bath or something at that time.

Why are you putting a 7 year old to bed at 6pm??

How are exercise levels? Screen use? Sugar and caffeine levels? What time does he normally wake? Are things any different weekends/holidays?

Ps my 3yr old often not asleep til 7 and still up at 5 (sob) with no nap but he is functioning fine on that.

6pm? No wonder he isn't going to sleep. 7 or even 7.30 would seem more appropriate.

6pm really does seem too early for a 7 year old, what time does he normally get up in the mornings?

The OP might not be in the UK.

Does seem early for a 7 year old, fwiw my 7.5 year old is in bed 7.30 ish lights out 8 ish and can still be mucking about at 9 pm. All started when they turned 7....

www.nhs.uk/live-well/sleep-and-tiredness/how-much-sleep-do-kids-need/#7-years

I always used this and it’s been spot on. Less so now they’re older as they seem to need less sleep than this suggests, catching up on the weekend. But it’s a decent guide.

What everyone else said. Thats very very early. My four year old goes to bed at 7 and is up at 7 (actually, she's supposed to be up at 7, but she's actually usually up at 6, but that's a whole different thread!)

6pm for a 7 year old is crazy early!

Up to bed for 7.30 after a bath and teeth brushing etc and lights off at 8.

6.00pm is very early for a 7 year old, my two are 6 and 7 and bedtime for both is 7.30 usually sleep by 8.00. Towards the end of the week they tend to be a bit more tired but still wouldn’t be asleep before 7.30.

I wonder if the stress of not being able to sleep when he’s expected to might be making it harder for him. Maybe try winding down and aiming for bed at 7/7.30 and see how he goes.

How do you know he's still awake? What is he doing? With my dc, we have our (long!) bedtime routine, then it's lights off andcdoir closed, not allowed to come out (unless toilet, nightmare etc). I wouldn't know how long it takes them to get to sleep.

Well are you in the UK or not OP?

Sorry. Was reading another thread. Normally lights out is 8pm but he was so exhausted he was hollow eyed and kept havibg hysterics about stupid stuff I thought an early but longer bedtime would help rather than rushing around right before I expect him to sleep. On a good night he has 11 hours. He's been having about 8 hours the last few. He had some mild behavioural stuff. No diagnosis but omg does it get worse when he's tired.

He just can't seem to switch off. He's even happy to lie down and do nothing because he's exhausted but sleep does not come...

Oops. Sorry. No screen time after 5pm. Today none at all this evening. No caffeine EVER. No sugar this evening and just usual amounts normally i guess - certainly not before bed though. Milk or water with dinner. Lots of exercise becauae he's uncontrollable otherwise. SPD and possibly (school are considering whether to pursue diagnosis or not) ADHD. He needs physical exertion like I need mumsnet!

I know it's dark early (if you're in the UK) but could you take him for a walk before bedtime to tire him out, or let him bounce on the trampoline for 20 minutes before it gets too dark? DS8 is a nightmare if he's not physically tired at bedtime, so we often go for a quick 30 minute run about 6.30pm with the dogs, purely to make sure he's burned all his 'buzz' from the day out.

We've also bought him a Lumie light that gradually darkens like a sunset, and brightens in the morning like a sunrise. It's really helped him settle to sleep earlier, and if he really, really can't sleep I let him read quietly in his bed or in bed with me. So long as he's resting I'm ok, but the Lumie has solved so many of the battles.

Oh and generally I know he's still awake late because we either catch him when we go to bed or he keeps coming down repeatedly or he confesses the next day.

This thread is madness. Lying with a 7 year old at 6pm for two hours? No wonder he couldn’t sleep.

We stay outside for an hour minimum every night after school unless it's absolutely chucking down. He can keep himself awake reading. One of the reasons I'm in with him as he confessed this evening that he was reading by his nightlight. Sigh.
He's still awake now. I appreciate the thoughts though. Keep them coming. Will look at the lumie thing. God knows the groclock didn't work

I agree nicknacky. Certainly wouldn't normally bother as i have shit to do of an evening but just desperate to break the cycle and he wanted me here so i thought it might help. As I said it's normal lights out at 8pm.

Oh my Lord. I think he might finally have succumbed. His face is pressed against the palm of my hand. Seems odd to me but it's obviously helped. Freedom! 10 minutes to do some stuff before my bedtime. Yay.

The other thing we tried was meditation cd's from Amazon. They sell them specifically for children, and the How to Train Your Dragon audiobooks are fab for just letting them rest, as are the Harry Potter ones.

White noise could help.