Help!!!I have a nearly 5 year old teenager!!!

[sb34]

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Hi sb34 - what is his usual night-time routine? Does he do quiet things before bedtime? Maybe he needs to wind down more in the evenings ie no TV or games. Maybe a story or some music and even a massage to relax him. 7pm does seem a bit early - dd is just turned 6 and goes to bed between 7.30 and 7.45, and is awake at about 6.30am. The stickers incentive is a good idea. At least he stayed in bed - try to get him to lay down though - no looking at books etc - and dim the light in the room. He is probably overtired now if this has been going on for a while. Sorry I can't think of anything else, save taking away something he loves if he persists in playing up at bedtime. HTH!

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sb34, I have a similar problem with 5yo ds. He was wide awake at 10pm last night! He will go to bed (under duress) at usual 7.30-8pm time but he just isn't tired when he gets there. He keeps wandering in to me mewing piteously 'but I'm just not tired mum, it's really hard to sleep when I'm not tired.' I have started waking him earlier (7am this morning) to see if that helps so we shall see. I have a feeling though that maybe he just doesn't get worn out enough during the day (not much outdoor stuff this time of year) plus perhaps he's just started to need less sleep as it's been 7.30pm - 7.30am for ages and ages. Oh no, can't cope with him being up til 9 or 10 every night! We do a bath and stories etc so there's been no change of routine. Let's hope we both find an answer soon. I'm hoping it'll just go back to normal ish soon.

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sb34, similar again tonight - except it was 8.45pm when he finally slept, so a bit earlier. I'm going to do the same tomorrow - a long walk after school whether he likes it or not. Good luck to you too in the rain and the cold!

Our nearly 5 ds has similar bouts of stubborness but usually crashes when left in semi darkness to unwind. However we have also found that story tapes(one side and then sleep) and a side lamp help (probably a dimmer would be better).

Has he recently started school or extended hours as it may be the buzz of the school day is keeping him alert later while he is not as physically tired.

The reward system sounds a good one if you can stick to it, as does maintaining the early evening routine. Perhaps get firmer with him over the weekend or half term when you are under less pressure to get him out to school in the morning. Nothing worse than dealing with an over tired child when you need to get out of the house by a fixed time, especially if you are tired yourself!!

hth

LizS

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Drug him!

Mine would stay up all night unless forced into his bedtime routine, and like others he says he won't close his eyes when he is in bed. So I started rounding up all four children about 30 mins earlier than the 4 year old would go to bed, and I read to them. It's Harry Potter at the moment, and nine times out of ten he falls asleep before I finish. This has the added bonus of ds2 nodding off at the same time (he's 2)! You have to find something that takes about 30 mins to read though, or else I find it's not enough to make them sleepy.

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