She can't sleep until late 6YO DD

[tinkerbellone]

My youngest daughter can't go to sleep until about 9.30pm she's 6.
Her sister are 9&10- they're in bed at 7.30/8pm. Asleep by 8.30.

She's now in my room, on a sponge chair bed- because she disturbs her sisters.

What can I do? She can't sleep without me. I BF until she was 3 ...' mummy milk' every eve in her bed. Maybe that's it? If she lies with me she is asleep much quicker. I'm single parent to 4 & I just can't spent that long laying with her.

Any suggestions please?

What does she say about it? At 6 can she tell you how to help her sleep? Does she share a room with her sisters (when no t in with you !)?

I also co slept with ds6 lying with him until he fell asleep sometimes for well over an hour. When he was young he seemed to get a surge of energy around bed time and be really lively. I am convinced if I hadn't laid with him he would have been up and down until very late.

As he got a little older past 5 and busier he could fall asleep in about 1/2 hr with me next to him. I am only now just able to lie with him for say 15 mins until We have had a chat and I can see he is relaxed and then I can kiss him goodnight and leave the room for him to fall asleep on his own.

I feel it's been a long hard slog and that I made a rod for my own back by BFing him to sleep when he was little (past 3) and then laying with him. I am definitely through it now though and in some ways wouldn't miss our nightly chats and am happy to lay with him for 15 mins.

The only tips I could recommend are to make sure they are physically tired & to be very consistent with bedtimes, it's almost like he is wide awake until 8:29 and then asleep at 8:39 like clockwork. We also do a short relaxation exercise to relax his mind and body which seems to help. Also we sometimes listen to an audio book, so maybe you could listen together for 10 mins and then on her own for another 20 mins, I download mine free from the library and you can set a timer for them to stop.

Thank you. It's good to know someone else has the same issue.
She just says 'I can't sleep'
If I'm not with her she will get up saying 'I'm itchy, can't sleep, hungry, thirsty, xyz hurts' etc.
We have a routine of story. Chats. Then I sit in her room playing on my phone or going on mumsnet until she sleeps. Hopefully bedtime will get shorter and shorter :)

My DD is a night owl - has been from birth (just like me). As a baby she slept from midnight till noon. Now, at 7 she is usually asleep by 9:30pm on school nights, which is okay.

Sometimes it’s just the way they’re wired!