My DD won't sleep and until she does, I can't.

[MammaTJisanOlympicSumoWrestler]

Just got woken by my DDs DVD player and the downstairs TV on full blast. Went to her room and the DVD is playing to itself.

Went downstairs and she is wrapped in a blanket and watching very loud TV.

Hoiked her upstairs and settled her down. So far she has had paddies about wrong DVD in player (allowed in a maybe misguided atttempt to get her to chill even when she can't sleep) and a spider.

She is going to be 7 next week and we have an appointment for assesment in October. Will we survive till then?

I worked last night, have tonight off and will be working tomorrow (Thursday) night. I actually go ro work for a break!!

so when does she fall asleep and wake up typically? I would remove the DVD in her bedroom for a start, not good for her to think it's ok to watch dvdd whenever she likes imo. you could use it as a reward for staying in bed until 6 for example. Can you prevent her from going downstairs?
We have a not before 6 rule ( I know 6 is still horribly early but ds was a 5am waker for years). He has to wait in bed until his clock says 6. we just rapid returned for weeks until he got it and now just lays there sneezing and talking to himself if he wakes up before 6 but tbh his body is retrained and usually wakes on the dot of 6 now.

She takes forever to settle at night, doing the 'upstairs, downstairs' routine till at least 9 pm. Then she often wakes sometime between 2 and 4 and tries to wake everyone else. That is the reason for the DVD player. We hoped it might mean she could just watch it and relax and fall asleep instead of waking us all. I think it is a mistake after all but am at a loss as to what else to do.

We also have the major problem of my DP being in charge on the nights I am at work, and he is softer than me. He ends up letting both of them in my bed. My DS still gets up in the night, but when I am home he just comes for a cuddle and goes back to his own bed and straight to sleep. A bit annoying but nowhere near as intense as trying to deal with DD.

it's a pain when you try to do something and the other person goes against it. How old is she? We have taught ds to relax his body bit by bit - you know ' your toes are feeling solo sleepy, your ankles are so relaxed' kind of thing. He uses that to help himself get off to sleep sometimes. He is 6 though

She is 6, will be 7 next week. She won't do quiet settling. She literally keeps coming up and down the stairs until she drops. She is the same when she wakes in the night. Sometimes I think letting her go downstairs would be the easiest option, but I have a fear of fire and prefer us all to be on the same floor. I know it is unlikely to happen but I can't help it. Also children should really sleep in their beds.

We have an appointment to start the assesment process in October. I know we are incredibly lucky to get this so soon after her 7 th birthday. I think the advice I got on here about doing the check list that I had done and putting examples of the behaviour really helped.

Despite the bad night, we have had a good day today. She has been almost unchallenging in her behaviour. I think her little brother being sick helped, as she had him to 'take care of' and focus on. This in itself can be a problem as she behaves like a mini mum, making threats for bad behaviour and promises for good behaviour. She was ok today though, as I had made it clear that water was the only thing he could have and when I stipped him off after he had been sick, she rushed and got him something to put on and was generally very helpful and not domineering.

I realise I am going on. Am at work now. Going to be a busy night, with two new residents to take care of as well as the 9 others I know so well.

Shoppingbags did you use a relaxation CD or just do it yourself?

We just do it ourselves. Dh started by kind of stroking each body part as he quietly told ds to relax it. Then we just lay in the dark with him using a quiet voice talking about each body part. Now he can do it himself, although we do remind him to 'do your relaxing'. Doesn't always work but might be worth giving it a try? I always end with 'now you are ready for a lovely sleep'. Poor child probably thinks his mother is a hypnotist!

Lol, worth a try at least. She will probably demand I continue to do it with her though. If it got her to sleep within half an hour it would be worth it.

keep us posted :)

Well, today, she went swimming (ginger hair does apparently mean little mermaid) for two hours, then outdoor play area, then soft play for a while. Slightly late home, so late tea and late bedtime. Been in bed since 8 and no downstairs visits.

Obviously I know wearing her out helps but I can't do this every day! At least we have one nights respite (till 3am?)

Get a cheeky in quick! Try the relaxing in the night. Maybe she will be so knackered she will sleep through? Fingers crossed :)

I may have had a cheeky . She slept till 5 then that was that, up and at 'em. Luckily Daddy duty was the order of the day!