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Original poster

Dd, nearly 6, can't get to sleep at night.

16 replies

Mog · 31/05/2007 15:46

Dd has not been able to drop off to sleep for some time now. Sometimes it's 10.00 before she can get to sleep and I do feel she is tired in the day. There is nothing going on at home or at school to worry her. I've tried music playing, lavender oil, hot milk, getting her to count sheep. I'm running out of ideas. Anyone had this problem or can offer solutions. She gets put to bed at 8.00 pm and her brothers go to sleep right away but she can't seem to.

OP posts:
Porpoise · 31/05/2007 15:49

Is she older than her brothers, Mog?

Original poster
Mog · 31/05/2007 16:02

Yes she is. They are 4 and 2.5.

OP posts:
Porpoise · 31/05/2007 16:08

Maybe that could be at the root of it?

Have you tried letting her stay up a little later 'because she's the oldest'. Maybe read her a special story for an extra 10 mins or so.

Makes a difference in our house...

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Porpoise · 31/05/2007 16:09

Sorry,you don't say how old she is. I'm guessing she's 6-ish?

luciemule · 31/05/2007 16:11

Or if it's just mroe recently, she could have growing pains and just be irritable and not be able to settle herself.
My DD loves sitting in bed and playing fuzzyfelt/reading to herself sometimes and she packs away her things quite quickly and is able to then drop off.

Original poster
Mog · 31/05/2007 16:31

Porpoise - I'll give it a try. I mentioned in the title that she is nearly 6.

Lucie - she's a really good reader so she's allowed to read in bed but it doesn't seem to make her sleepy. I mean she can be reading for an hour and still not feel tired.

The strange thing is that up until about 4 she needed a lot of sleep. I wouldn't worry but I feel she is not getting enough at the moment.

OP posts:
Porpoise · 31/05/2007 16:33

Duh, sorry Mog!
Yes, the reading thing makes a big difference IMO: they can get very caught up in a book and read on for ever.
Is she in her own room?

Crocky · 31/05/2007 16:37

My 6yo is the same. Have a friend with ds the same age who is telling me to let him stay up later as when she puts her ds to bed an hour or more later he is straight to sleep.
The big problem with doing that is that the later my ds goes to sleep the earlier he wakes up and I am getting so frustrated with the tired, stroppy little sod that he is at the moment.
No help but you are not alone.

Original poster
Mog · 31/05/2007 16:42

I'm also on my own a lot in the evenings becasue dh works funny hours so not at my best at that time of night. And also have the same problem that if I put the boys to bed too early they wake up too early.

She is in her own room as she is the only girl and a bit much to have all three in one room. She has mentioned in the past not liking being in the room on her own (she shared with middle brother until she was about 4.5). But if I put them in together now they wouldn't be asleep before midnight .

OP posts:
Noellefielding · 31/05/2007 16:47

my ds has had a phase of this recently but it seems to be better at the moment. I think they are taking on a lot of very grown up ideas at this age, mortality, change etc. Ds seems to use bed time to wonder about the world and it makes him anxious and need reassurance.
I used to be irritated but now I just give him lots of reassurance but not to the extent of rewarding the getting up!
Of course this may not be what is keeping her awake but I think in my ds's case it's a time for worries to surface.
Another thing he does is get all his soft toys and he puts them in the door way to fight any worrying thoughts He loves doing that - He has a huge ninja turtle that seems to work very well!

cornsilk · 31/05/2007 17:05

My ds has always found it hard to settle and I also worry that he's not getting enough sleep. One thing that does have an effect is if we go swimming in the afternoon or evening. Obviously we don't go every day, but it does make a difference.

Original poster
Mog · 31/05/2007 17:09

Noel - I did wonder about that. We're a very noisy household, with 3 children close in age and 2 of them boys. She's at school all day and then straight back to noise. She's probably the deepest thinker of our children. So I did wonder if nighttime, when she is quiet, is when she has time to let her thoughts run around her head. Don't think she's particularly worrying about things but just able to have some quiet to think for the first time.
Don't think this is necessarily a bad thing but want her to be able to settle quicker as she needs more sleep.

OP posts:
Original poster
Mog · 31/05/2007 17:11

Cornsilk - I think swimming would be a great idea for her, very relaxing, but since I often have 3 on my own I wouldn't be allowed to at our leisure centre.

OP posts:
Noellefielding · 31/05/2007 17:22

Maybe it is her thinking time too.
My ds recently has been worrying that he will have to leave home one day and wants us to know that he wants to live with us forever. So we need to do a lot of reassuring around that! !

Original poster
Mog · 01/06/2007 10:18

Anyone else have any ideas?

OP posts:
foxinsocks · 01/06/2007 10:21

ooh Mog, I had a thread about this a while ago because one of mine is a bit like this.

It's as though they need extra winding down time - like they are too wired to sleep even though it's obvious they are tired (like being overtired).

Mine share a room and that does help but you do have an element of them pissing about for ages before they settle down.

Have you tried letting her have a story tape/CD before she goes to sleep instead of or in addition to reading time?

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