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Original poster

Sleep problems for a 7yr old.

29 replies

JodyW · 26/05/2007 12:08

Hi. I've got a very active, physically and mentally, 7 yr old boy. His "lights out" time each night is 7:30, but he's still wide awake at 8:45 every night. This is even after a full week of school, plus after school clubs. He just can't seem to calm down mentally or physically and go to sleep. I should also mention that he's up in the morning by 6:30 and ready to go.

Does anyone have any ideas on how to get him to go to sleep. He's sleep deprived because he's cranky and he's got dark circles under his eyes. Thanks for any ideas.

OP posts:
Porpoise · 26/05/2007 12:09

What does he 'do' before lights out, JodyW?
Does he read? Have a bath? Or do you just play it by ear?

Original poster
JodyW · 26/05/2007 12:12

We always read. We're in the middle of Lionboy right now. Usually he has a bath with his younger brother before I tuck the little one in his crib. Then we have our "own" time w/o the baby.

OP posts:
Porpoise · 26/05/2007 12:18

Sounds like you have a good 'wind-down' routine then.
My ds2 is 7 - but his lights go out at 8pm. I read to him and ds1 first, and then he has 10 minutes or so to read in bed by himself.
Sure I read somewhere that 10 1/2 hours is about average sleep need for a 7 year old.

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pirategirl · 26/05/2007 12:19

i do all the wind down stuff, too, but have the same old problem as you.

she's far too switched on and has been since birth.

its a bugger.

puppydavies · 26/05/2007 12:21

talking books? helps me to sleep when i can't switch off.

Original poster
JodyW · 26/05/2007 12:22

You may be right about the amount of sleep. It's just that by the weekend, he's hard to handle. Even after the whole day at the park, he still is too hyper to go to sleep. He says it's because he thinks about stuff all the time. He can't seem to let his mind shut down and drift off to sleep.

OP posts:
Original poster
JodyW · 26/05/2007 12:24

I've tried the talking books, it just keeps him up later, because he wants to find out what happenes. He'll happily sit and listen to 8 hours of Stephen Fry narrating Harry Potter. It's great for long haul flights, but murder on getting him to sleep.

OP posts:
Porpoise · 26/05/2007 12:24

What does he do? Chatter away to you? Get out of bed and wander about? Shout and kick up?

Original poster
JodyW · 26/05/2007 12:25

Mostly he talks to his "friends". Those are his cuddly animals. Sometimes he gets up, but that's pretty rare.

OP posts:
Porpoise · 26/05/2007 12:31

How about actually doing the whole story/getting him into bed thing earlier but then giving him longer to chatter to his animals or whatever with the lights on?
Sounds like he's just one of those livewives that needs a long time to unwind.

Original poster
JodyW · 26/05/2007 12:45

I've tried to get him into bed earlier, but he thinks it's a punishment. He's very concerned with what he gets in relation to his younger brother. He knows that he goes to bed 1/2 hour to 1 hours before his brother. Any earlier and we have problems.

OP posts:
ghosty · 26/05/2007 12:46

JodyW ... have you got my son there??????

My DS is 7 and sounds EXACTLY like yours ... he was a bad sleeper as a baby and used to wake up howling from naps and in the morning. Now, he doesn't cry obviously, but he wakes up and is up and at 'em as soon as his eyes open. He too complains of not being able to stop thinking ...
We have to have strict rules about computer and playstation (only at weekends for 1/2 hours slots and NOT after 5pm) as he can go to bed completely wired.
My DS has always seemed to need much less sleep than other children. He has lights out at 8pm and is rarely asleep before 8.45 and is always up by 6.30. We have tried sticker charts (helped to keep him in bed for a bit longer in the morning but the novelty wears off pretty quickly). In the end I reckoned that I can't MAKE him sleep but I can give him as much OPPORTUNITY to sleep and make his bed a good place to be.
We recently, when we moved, splashed out on a really good mattress for him (one that an adult would sleep on - orthopaedic type) and that has helped trememdously I have to say. He is really comfy in bed now - he always used to say he couldn't get comfy.
We have night lights (his mind is so active he imagines monsters and all sorts in his room as soon as it is dark)
We also keep story time to a minimum at bedtime. It makes him think too much. We read earlier when his sister goes to bed.
Um ... And also he has realised that if he doesn't sleep well for a long period of time he gets sick - he suffers from headaches and mysterious temperatures ... I see them coming if he has had a particularly bad run of sleep. Last year he found this so unpleasant that he began to work on his sleep a bit.

The other thing is that we realised that the early waking was more a problem for us than for him ... so now he has stuff to do when he wakes up and is absolutely NOT allowed to wake us up before 7am ...

It goes in fits and starts - sometimes good, sometimes bad .... we are used to it now.

I doubt any of that is that helpful to you but I wanted to extend my sympathies as I feel your pain ...

ghosty · 26/05/2007 12:48

I completely sympathise with the younger sibling thing too ... no chance of an early bedtime with dd around. Luckily she loves going to be and is always tucked up by 7.15

Original poster
JodyW · 26/05/2007 13:00

Ghosty, I may have your son here! My DS1 is totally addicted to the Star Wars Lego computer game. We use it as a behaviour modifier. He'll happily play that or any computer game for hours and hours, then he turns into a monster! I've noticed that DS1 is harder to handle after playing on the computer or watching TV. I know that's is bad, but after school trying to get dinner ready and dealing with a tired and hungry toddler, it's much easier for me to plop them down in front of the TV for 1/2 hour. Then I can get them their dinner.

Maybe I'll look into getting him a new mattress. Anything's got to be better than what we're going through now.

OP posts:
ghosty · 26/05/2007 13:05

Don't get me wrong ... we have telly ... definitely during the hell hour ... but the computer and playstation are no nos after 5pm (Lego StarWars our fave too )

ghosty · 26/05/2007 13:08

I also give him Omega Oils ... don't know what it does but it makes me feel better and I do insist on a good diet (don't ban anything, they do have sweets and stuff, but I try to balance it all, lots of veggies, not much convenience food etc)
Bizarrely, my 'good' eater, DS, is the crap sleeper and my crap eater, DD is the good sleeper.
They are like a 'good cop/bad cop' routine

ghosty · 26/05/2007 13:09

DD would live on biscuits and popcorn if she could ... any tips on that while we are here????

ghosty · 26/05/2007 13:10

Sorry, am rabbiting on now ... am just so pleased to find someone with a DS like mine (same age too) ... most of my friends look at me with pity when I talk about DS and his sleep ....

Original poster
JodyW · 26/05/2007 13:21

We're on fish oils too. We could be twins! My DS2 is a great eater and great sleeper too. Sometimes he's up, but he settles himself back w/o me. He's quite happy in his cot. Just like you, no computer in the evenings, even on the weekends. DS1 has always been a talker. As soon as he learned to talk, he'd talk himself to sleep, talk in his sleep and wake up talking in the morning. He's just like my older brother!

OP posts:
Original poster
JodyW · 26/05/2007 13:22

And I know what you mean about friends. All too often I hear about how great their kids are at bedtime. Glad to know that there are others out there with "our" kids.

OP posts:
ghosty · 26/05/2007 13:30

I keep telling myself it means he is ultra bright and will be a real 'go getter' when he grows up ...
On the other hand, he wants to be a Formula 1 Driver or bungee jumper or Steve Irwin or in some kind of nutty extreme sport ... which worries me slightly ...

Original poster
JodyW · 26/05/2007 13:47

Jack wants to be an astronaut, inventor, have his own rock band, scientist and multi-millionaire! Look out Richard Branson.

OP posts:
ghosty · 26/05/2007 13:55

We should introduce them JodyW ...

Original poster
JodyW · 26/05/2007 13:59

They may take over the world!

OP posts:
ghosty · 26/05/2007 22:53

Jody ... last night DS went to bed at 7.45 ... was still faffing around and up and down at 8.45.
This morning at 5.55am (!) both children came upstairs to our room ... DS had woken up and wanted to come up but was scared of the dark (deepest darkest winter in Australia) so he woke DD up and made her come up the stairs first - he is 7 and she is 3 ...
I give up!

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