How do i get my child to sleep?

Question

My 7 year old daughter goes to bed at 8pm every night yet she will still be awake at 11pm most nights. she plays with anything she can find and even if there wasn't she talks to herself untill she drops. I'm worried she's not getting enough sleep and in turn could affect her health. help. worried mum.

Answer 1

Hi,Mariska,
I had a similar problem with my daughter- we would put her to sleep,and three hours later she would still be firing on all cylinders.
Our solution was,time consuming though it may seem, to make her bedtime a half-hour event; we made sure she went into a warm,half-lit room; we both sat with her while I read her a story for twenty minutes (never read a story to the end,so that you can use the un-read bit as bargaining material to make her settle down), my good lady would leave first and make sure that daughter could hear her in the next room briefly (for assurance),and I would follow suit after re-assuring her that we were both nearby. Running back in when child calls is the most non-productive thing you can do.
Try not to have any toys apart from teddy bear nearby.
It worked for us.
Happy new year.

Answer 2

I have the exact same problem with my 4 year old daughter. Even the same bedtime. There are some nights she is up even later than 11 though. Kids are like everyone else though. If you are just not ready to sleep, you just can't sleep. The only thing that had worked for me (and I don't know if its a great resolution, but I know it works) is to put a TV in her room. We put on a favorite show, turn the volume low, and she will lay in bed nice and still, and eventually she will drift off. Great thing about most TVs are they have timers on them, so they will turn off automatically after a certain amount of time.

Answer 3

I have similar problems with my son, i have tried many things. The thing that worked the most was cranial osteopathy, he used to bang alot and was hyper active, it really worked he improved that same night! also somebody advised i gave my son horlicks in soya milk instead of just milk, he prefers this and i could see the effect immediately. My dad also has horlicks at night as he is a bad sleeper, he sleeps right through with horlicks. This is a tough time when you dont know where to turn, if the above doesnt work it may be a thing she will grow out of in time. Any siqnificant change in a childs life can cause problems like this one. Good luck xxx

Answer 4

Don't worry if she is not getting enough sleep she will sleep during the day, if she needs to.How about at bedtime giving her hot chocolate or milk and letting her read in bed.She will be able to relax in bed and will nod off herself.
Try putting her in the bath with lavender scented water, you get great bath stuff in Lush and the have an internet shop
http://www.lush.com/ Just click on whatever country your in.
If your daughter does sleep for long periods during the day, bring her to the doctors, just to make sure there is no underlying problem

Answer 5

Perhaps something is worrying her? I remember my eldest going through the same thing. It turned out the shadows made her imagination run riot!! So she used to try and ignore them by playing!! Try talking to her ... and see what she comes up with. Perhaps a nice warm bath before bed, and a warm drink might help. She may just need a little encouragement to actually get into bed and stay! I do think you should try work out if something is bothering her though!

Answer 6

my sister has 6 kids all under the age of 12 and she usualy doesnt let them have any thing sugary and only drink milk after dinner as it relaxes them.the older ones watch tv until 9.30 and the younger ones go to bed at 7 but they can play until 8.some times she also plays relaxing sea music and uses night lights !also she lays with them for about half an hour to help them dozz of!once u get them into a routein they soon find it easy to get to sleep.

Answer 7

Maybe 8pm is too early for her? my daughter is 6 and goes to bed at 8.30pm. Try getting her to sleep at 9pm instead so thats shes more tired and maybe sleep longer. Does she do activities? join her in a social event like dancing or swimming as the more excercise she gets the more tired she'll be.

Answer 8

Let her stay a little longer.. say 9pm. My other half son is 5 yrs old and he's the same.. he's taking longer and longer to get to sleep every night. We let him stay up a little longer and now it doesn't take so long for him to go to sleep. Why don't you try a nice hot drink, a bath and a nice story.. that usually does the trick! Good luck! :-)

Answer 9

Have her snuggle into bed with a book and have her read till she can't stay awake. Tell her it's bed time and that you'll read her a story or sing a lullaby or something. Or do a bedtime routine.

Best of Luck!!

Answer 10

I would try getting your daughter to bed at the same time but for a couple of days waking her up at least a half hour to an hour before she has to wake up and if she complains that she is tired then you could tell her well this is what happens when you don't go to sleep when you are supposed to.
also you could try a cup of warm milk before she goes to bed or even a cup of warm tea. If we think back to when our children were babies as soon as they got their warm milk and were all done with it they would fall asleep and that is due to the fact that it relaxes their bodies.