When do children ACTUALLY sleep through? Dd now 7!

[Paintinmyhair]

And still gets up on average 2-3 times a night, grrrr! Always needs more juice/something else, and we're too sleep deprived to stop her. Is this normal?

No! Frankly, it isn't. Has she always woken up in the night.................for 7 years?!?!?

Have you never wanted to stop it before now? I can barely manage 7 weeks without wanting it to stop - never mind 7 years!!!!

You've done very well to still be with us I think......no idea how to stop her though if it really is totally ingrained that she;ll wake and get some attention in the middle of the night.

Sorry not to be more help - hopefully people with older children will be along soon to answer you. At last I've bumped you anyway!

Good luck :)

Far too old to be getting up at night frequently! You need to be very firm with her, does she have a bedtime or any sort of routine?

Can you ask her why she is getting up? Is she scared of the dark, bedroom not dark enough or hearing outside noise?

Stop giving her juice/whatever she wants when she wakes up and ignore her she'll soon learn that she might as well sleep!

No it's not, tell her off.

At 7 years old she can be told to get herself a drink of water and do NOT wake you up unless there is blood, vomit or fire. I would be furious with her for this, it's so selfish to wake someone else up when you are capable of sorting it out yourself.

My 5 year old will get his own drink at night. he's perfectly happy to wake me up if he NEEDS me (vomit, wet bed, stuck tap etc) so clearly isn't remotely scared to wake me, but wouldn't dream of waking me for something he can do himself.

Warn her today that you will no longer be pandering to her at night. There will be no juice at night (shockinly bad for teeth, the acid in juice). You will not be getting up to make drinks or adjust blankets. She will be doing it herself and if she continues to wake you up for silly selfish reasons, you'll sanction her.

Agree totally with Colditz. I really don't see why she needs a drink but I know several parents who send their children to bed with a sports drink bottle of water incase they need it at night - there is no way I would be doing juice and TBH I don't even provide a drink for overnight.

D2 was about 7. but she just woke up and climbed in with me. she didn't wake me up for stuff though.

I would be furious to be woken by someone over the age of 3 for anything less than illness or emergency!

Have you tried rewards/punishments?

furious doesn't work at 3am. just winds you up further.

Surely it's the same as any sleep issue - you put the effort in short term for results in the long term.

Can't believe you would give a child juice in the night routinely. Leave water by her bedside if she needs a drink in the night and get cross if she comes in. Tell her on no account to wake you unless she's ill or has had a really bad nightmare.

My 2 are 15 and 17 but and no way would I have tolerated disturbed sleep every night beyond the age of 3. Your daughter needs to know she's being selfish. You need to adopt a more assertive parenting style well before the teenage years!

No drink last night and she slept through! I feel worse today for having the sleep, ha ha! She doesn't ALWAYS wake up, but it is enough for me to be fed up. And it got to the point where I was usually still asleep anyway, so didn't know what was going on enough to tell her off IYSWIM. Lets hope the no fluids after tea holds!

Dp would under no circumstances ever ever ever let her get in with us, as no one sleeps then! Thankfully she rarely has nightmares or gets ill, as her bed is a high one!