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

But what a pita, I agree.

DD3 is 5.10 and exactly the same. Nothing tires her out. I just let her lie there and read or play games with her teddies. Or she listens to music or a talking book. Then her older sisters complain they can sleep because DD3 has Songs from the Musicals on and they've had about all they can take of Oklahoma and South Pacific.

Like I said, if she isn't grumpy she probably doesn't need so much sleep and it will be difficult to change it. I hope I didn't offend you by asking about diet but sometimes it can be a factor and it is obviously not the case from what you have written. , good luck!

black out blinds might help.

Mine are back in the lovely "bed by 8" routine again now I've put black out blinds up again. DS would potter about all evening in his room if i let him, he is 6.

Get her up earlier. Mine goes to bed at about 7:30, but I get them up at 6:00 everyday.

Sorry - you may not want to hear this...but..

my sister was just like this as a child. She simply did not need that much sleep. I remember my mum being so concerned about it (probably as driving her mad TBH) went to speak to the Gp about it and he just said the same - some children just don't need as much sleep.

My sister is still the same and doesn't need much sleep. She is an adult in her 20s now and still goes to slep late and is up first thing in the morning.

Sorry.

I was like it too

Ha... a mother's curse then. I bet your mother thinks it's funny.

Our dd (aged 4yrs 3mths going on 14) is exactly like this. "I'm just not sleepy mummy"! Its quite soothing to hear there are others out there!!!

Hah. I quote your title all the time. Except mine goes to bed early (7pm), but wakes up at 5.15 every morning. To be honest, I think you have it worse. Although you get a lie-in, you must have no truely adult time.

I've come to the conclusion that mine just needs less sleep. He's under strict instructions to stay in his bedroom til 6am!

CD - does it matter?

Mine are nearly 9, nearly 7 and nearly 4 and not one of them sleeps anything like a textbook number of hours per night.

The nearly-9 is still regularly pottering about at 10.30-11.

The middle one (who is the best sleeper of the lot, and always has been) usually goes to sleep at around half-past nine, maybe a shade earlier.

The little one is chased into his own room at 8.30 p.m. but again is often still awake and chatting to himself at 9.15 p.m.

None of them seem tired or irritable as a general rule and the older two are doing well at school (the little one has autism so he's a different kettle of fish).

I just leave them to get on with it, really.

Can I join the 'my child doesn't need to sleep' club?

DS age nearly 6 has always been a champion sleeper - loved going to bed, hated being kept up late, always asleep by 8ish and woke naturally between 6.30 and 7.30am.

All of a sudden this year, when the nights got lighter he struggled to get to sleep. This is also around the time he started to read to himself in bed after our stories.

The weird thing is that he just doesn't seem tired. Not grumpy, not cross.

At one point he was awake until around 11pm every night. I've been aiming for gradual improvement, and have been able to bring this forward so it's now usually before 10pm. I've taken to lying with him for 10 mins or so around 9pm, as this usually gets his body nice and relaxed. I'm treating it a bit like sleep training in a baby or toddler - teaching him to fall asleep alone again!! We've never really dropped the bedtime routine so are continuing with this.

Sorry to ramble - but you're not alone.

If you don't think she needs the sleep then you need to send her to bed later or allow her to do things in her room that don't disturb anyone.

If you do think she needs the sleep, then she needs to be told she must be in bed, with the lights off and her eyes shut. It is up to her if she sleeps but those are the rules.

Whenever mine complain they can't sleep I always tell them no one does when they are walking about with the light on and this is what they must do. But then I know mine do need the sleep and get foul without it. If they carry on messing about then I start moving their bed times earlier for the next night. So they miss out on fun stuff.