Hi all,
Looking for advice to help my 9 year old daughter settle/sleep well at night as it’s an ongoing drama!
She goes to bed at 8.45 - we’ve kept this regular bedtime, even over the summer. Any earlier, she can’t sleep and later doesn’t work except when we’re away as she has to be up for 7 for school and she’ll be exhausted. She always says she’s tired at lights out, then the next day says she struggled to sleep or fell asleep then woke up and couldn’t get back to sleep.
She watches TV until 7-7.15 then it’s shower and over an hour to wind down/read. Room is dark (blinds) and she has a fan. She’s very active during the day and does a lot of sport.
It’s particularly bad if we go away - the first couple of nights always involves her coming down multiple times sobbing that she can’t sleep, often until midnight. Even if she had an early flight/morning, it seems to make no difference. She also struggles at sleepovers and often only has 2-3 hrs sleep and then is horrendous the next day. I don’t think it helps that she’s an over thinker.
As someone who can be a poor sleeper herself, especially at the start of a holiday in a new bed, I’ve got a lot of sympathy: however the well is starting to dry up as it’s been going on all summer holidays and last term and I feel she’s indulging it as well for attention! She has a sister who is two years younger than her and sleeps like the dead - same routine. She can sleep anywhere.
Any tips/suggestions that have worked for you if you’ve got a similar child?! I do feel this is something she needs to crack as she really struggled on her residential last year due to the sleep. TIA.