8yo dd Having difficulty getting to sleep ..

[Tillyboo]

Every Night we seem to be having this issue. Tonight has just culminated in dd completely losing the plot & getting almost hysterical crying (& yawning) when I sent her upstairs (again) and told her that she had to just lie in her bed & be quiet & calm and that eventually she would drop off.

She got herself into such a state & their is just no pacifying her when she gets upset.

She's tried reading, relaxing music etc. but nothing seems to help. Any suggestions ? I hate to see/ hear her get into such a state. She's knackered but somehow cannot just drop off no matter whether she goes to bed at 7.30pm or 10.00pm.

Mine's the same...we've tried all the relaxing music and yoga type sounds...the only thing that has improved her is my not allowing her to eat ANY sugar after 4.00pm

She has her main meal then and no pudding....no fruit....I only allow things like crackers with butter and some milk...or toast with something on it...it has helped it seems.

Also, bike riding...my DD can go for a loooong time and still have lots of energy so we try to get her worn out in the day. And a big one....no playing cputer games either! Not late than 4.00 anyway.

I feel for her, I struggled to sleep when I was young and it was horrible. I used to get in a tiz because I was the only one still awake in the house. Then I'd start imagining all sorts, burglars etc. Bit of a strange suggestion but here's a few things to try:
make her room cool, tell her to try turning her quilt and pillow over if she's been lying in it for a while, will cool her body down and should help her get comfortable.
Secondly, tell her to imagine she's somewhere very relaxing and take her mind on a journey, for example imagine she's on a quiet beach and she goes out on a canoe and paddles around, should help to clear her mind from school or tv etc.
Thirdly, and this is odd but I still use it now. Tell her to lie on her back and starting at her feet move slowly through the muscle groups tending and relaxing them as she goes. So get her to point her toes and hold for 10 then relax then repeat. Do this through her whole body and it should encourage her body to relax.
Hope that helps.

tensing

My son started finding it difficult to drop off at around this age, and he's now 10. He never got up - he'd just lie quietly in the bed, wide awake.

We've tried a lot of different things - reading, meditation CDs, music, silence, later/earlier bedtimes, but no magic cure! He now has audio books on very quietly - stops him getting bored or upset at being unable to sleep, and gives his mind a bit of a focus.

I'm interested in the no sugar thing - not tried that before, although have tried carbs at bedtime in place of fruit.

I would say though, that he still wakes naturally every morning and he doesn't seem tired in the day, so he really just needs less sleep - could this be the case with your DD?