Anybody else struggling with bedtime!?

[EmilyLewis89]

Is anyone else struggling!?

Hi everyone,

I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed and wanted to see if I’m the only one going through this 😅. Both my kids (aged 5 and 10) really struggle to wind down and actually get to sleep at night. We have tried so many different things, but bedtime still feels like a constant battle.

I’m curious—are other parents dealing with this? What have you tried to help your kids relax and fall asleep more easily?

I’d love to hear any thoughts, tips, or even just stories so I know we’re not alone in this!

Thanks in advance! 😊

The 10 year old you offer bedtime you want Sunday to Thursday, so long as they go without argument , they then get an extra hour for each night. So 5 hours they can use over the weekends...Friday or Saturday....
The 5 year old you praise the 10 year olds going to bed.

I have one who conks out immediately (but is an early riser) and one who cannot wind down and goes to sleep far too late. They have the same bedtime routine, all the right sleep hygiene etc etc. It is hardwired.

I have recently started giving my night owl melatonin (imported) and it has been like a miracle.

We have 3 children. Yes. We know the bedtime struggle but our point if view is not to discuss bedtimes or to argue endless.
We are the grown ups and take the decisions.

We have one left at home now (two at university). She can read in her bed for 30 minutes. Lights out and an audio book/meditation story if she wants. We make sure she has done the routine of bathroom, water and goodnights.
No Ipad/smartphone for 2 hours before her bedtime. Our GP has prescribed melatonin. I am not sure it works really

We started to take 6yr old upstairs around an hour before bedtime in a dimly lit room for reading/drawing/puzzles and 1:1 time with adult as also takes a while to wind down his brain. This works really well now, occasionally have to give a stern word to go to sleep but on the whole no arguments or stalling. We just found if there was any TV or anything within that hour we set ourselves up to fail

Gosh I feel your pain! Do you mean you're not sure the melatonin is working? Or the routine part? Thank you for replying!!

Thank you!!

@EmilyLewis89

Melatonin. A lot of parents praise it.
Routine is very useful. We stick to it!

Where do you all get the melatonin? My 6 year old is becoming difficult and taking hours to wind down recently 😞

Online imported from the US.

However it only works for people who have an inherent problem making their own melatonin naturally (eg people with ADHD). It doesn’t solve every sleep issue.

I wouldn’t try melatonin for a relatively recent sleep issue as kids go through phases and it may be temporary. I also wouldn’t try it until I’d tried all the usual sleep hygiene recommendations ie no screens before bed, same calming routine every night etc

He has good sleep hygiene. TV goes off an hour before bedtime and we read and talk, go upstairs for a bath then into bed with a meditation and relaxing music. He’s been in bed 1.5 hours and he is still awake up there. He will wait until I am in bed and asleep and then come into my bed