6 year old with sleep issues

[Pitapotamus]

My 6 year old has real trouble falling off to sleep at night. Literally nothing works, we’ve tried all the common sense stuff - no screens, bedtime routine, audio books, relaxation cds, etc etc.

The trouble is, it’s now effecting his behaviour and his school work. He is a bright child so he isn’t falling behind yet but he is very much doing the bare minimum to get by. When he gets home from school he is exhausted and his behaviour deteriorates dramatically.

He generally falls asleep at around 11.30pm which I think is very late for a 6 year old. Sometimes he cries his little heart out because he is so tired and just wants to be asleep. He has been asking me why he can’t fall sleep at night when his younger siblings can without any problems which is really sad.

Where should I turn for advice / help with this. Would the GP be my next point of call or would they think I was wasting their time? I’m not sure what they’d really be able to do for him.

When I was young my mum took me to the GP because she was so concerned about the time it took me to go to sleep. She was told as long I was in bed I was resting and there was nothing more that could be done. So I learned to go to bed at a normal time and would read or draw until I fell asleep hours later. Even now I don't get a lot of sleep and it takes me a long time to wind down. I'm very envious of people who sleep easily. Your son might be the same.

Yes, I was the same as a child too. I used to read until really late at night at his age. The difference is that it didn’t cause me to be so tired that I had problems with school and behaviour. I imagine advice will have changed over the last 30 years or so and perhaps there is something I could / should be doing differently to help him.

What time is his bedtime?

Have you tried lying next to him to help him get to sleep?

My DD gets very overtired sometimes and can't switch off even though exhausted. Earlier bedtime helps and it also helps her if I lie down with her and breathe slowly (as long as she doesn't try chatting to me!) It seems a bit like a regressive step but better than exhausted child.

Yeah. We have moved bedtime a bit over the course of the last year or so to try and work out if an earlier and or later bedtime would work for him. Same issues either way. Also tried lying with him but he just talks and I think it wakes him more! He shares a room with his brother who passes out as soon as his head hits the pillow so there is always a sleepy vibe in the room because of that! He’s finally fallen asleep just now!

Same with my 7 year old. He is still awake

Sorry to hear that drcoconut. How does he cope with the next day when awake that late?

I’ve decided to take ds to the GP. I’ve booked an appointment for two weeks time and I’m going to do a diary to track the pattern between now and the appointment.

We do have melatonin for DD (prescribed by paediatrician, she has other SN so sees one) and it helps a lot. We use it for night waking but generally it is used for problems getting sleepy at bedtime so perhaps ask about that. Even just as a very short term thing to break the cycle of not sleeping, worrying about not sleeping, not being able to sleep due to worrying etc...

Thanks minipie. My instinct is not to medicate him but I think you’re right that it may be worth a try in the short term just to break the cycle.