How to get my son to sleep at night?

Question

My son is 8. He doesn't fall asleep until around 11pm and gets up around 6-7 am. He always wakes me up so needless to say I am also tired. I have thought of prescribed medicines for him but wants to see if anyone can help naturally before I go to the GP.

Answer 1

Just don't give him Benadryl...without a doctor even though it is over the counter.

just saw a show about kids dying from that.

Wish i could help more, best of luck...

Answer 2

Ummm let's see 11pm to 7am. Isn't that 8 hours? You are complaining about only a few hours. Remember that guidelines are exactly that...GUIDES. All people are different and their requirements truely are differrnt. Here is the recommendation.
Follow these sleep guidelines for children:

Age Recommended Sleep
3 to 6 months 13 to 15 hours a day
6 to 12 months 12 to 14 hours a day
1 to 5 years 10 to 12 hours a day
6 to 12 years 10 to 11 hours a night
13 to 17 years 8 to 12 hours a night


Does he show any symptoms of sleep deprevation or is this more about you? [Read your second sentence] If he isn't showing any symptoms, his body may not require more sleep. There are millions or working American adults who would dream to have 8 peaceful hours in the night. You need to think about this before you start drugging your kid. Seriously!

Here are some symptoms to look for in YOUR CHILD:

A child that does not get enough sleep can be very fussy, irritable, and aggressive. In addition, they may not be able to learn or play well with other children.

While it would be my guess that he may need another hour or so, I don't think that calls for meds!

Secondly, your other major issue is with his wake time. This may be the REAL problem for him. Does light come into his room? Cover the windows. Completely! Not some cheap blind or curtain. Try Aluminum foil and black construction paper (foil facing out) for a temporary, low-cost solution. Spend two dollars and 20 minutes and give it 2 weeks maybe he'll sleep until 8. Maybe even 9 on the weekends.

In going with this line of thinking, how dark is the house at night? At what time does all activity cease? In other words, is he hanging out in the living room at 10pm with TV's, microwaves, blenders, and stereos running.....OR....is he sitting alone in a black room? If it is the latter, you may be sending him to bed too soon and causing a state of restlessness ("the zombie effect" I call it). If the first, then hey, again, think about your actions.

Parent and child are a team on this. At 9:30 change the channel to something like CNN and mute it. Just read the stuff at the bottom. He'll either get bored or he'll try to keep up (maybe by age 10) and LEARN SOMETHING plus reading a screen in the quiet makes most children drowsy.

I listed some links that might help. I hope you are listening to what I am saying (the informaion provided) and not being childish and side stepping by screaming, "he don't know me!" "who does he think he is".....Just remember, I'm not accusing, I'M ASKING YOU!!! Just incase you haven't asked yourself. :-)

Best
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Answer 3

Routine, give him no food or drink after 6o'clock on the night. Let him have a warm bath. The problem is though that if he's not catching up on that sleep during the day the chances are that he doesn't need the sleep in the first place. He's old enough for you to create a safe enviroment within your property so that he can play safely while you continue to sleep. My son is autistic and only ever needed a few hours sleep a night, so when he was your sons age i gave him a bit of independence. He could have the telly on when he got up, as long as it was on quietly and i could continue to sleep, he NEVER answered the phone or opened the front door. It's scary at first, but they start to appreicate the trust that you are giving them. My sons just turned 16 now and he still gets up at 6 every morning, even when he's ill, but i can lie in now and then. As long as he's a sensible boy it can work and anything is better than taking prescription drugs

Answer 4

Hi! Sorry that you and your son are having a little sleep dispute. I am even more sorry to say that the only thing that's going to make it work is a routine and being completely consistant. Drugs??? Sure they're a start but sometimes the body adjusts and then cant go without them so you land yourself back at square one. Best thing is to start a routine as early as 5 p.m. if you like with preparing his last meal together, eating together and discussing the days events, no tv, make his last hours about time with both of you - organise a warm bath and a quiet game for after. To close his night off, give him a warm glass of milk or milk drink (we loved nesquick with our milk as kids), best thing about a warm drink is that it raises his body temperature, then when you snuggle him down to bed and read him a story or sing him a song, as his body starts to slowly cool the body shuts down for the night.

Don't get me wrong, it could take some persuasion the first one or two days that his bed time is 7 p.m. You could even tell him that for him to grow better he needs to sleep more. Kids respond better when you explain things to them as corny as it might sound and he might be more willing if he knows what's going on. Be persistant because you're the boss and you boy lives with you, not you with him. He might try his luck by getting out of bed, say that it is time for bed and take him straight back. You might even have to pop him back to bed a few times or a lot, just keep it up until he gives in, there will be a breaking point where he'll just give in and collapse in a heap.

The more sleep he gets the better he'll be. The more you get the better guys will get on, plus that time to yourself is very important - I don't care how selfish that sounds, everyone needs alone time! So when he does come around to your program and is off to his new routine, sit down and have a glass of chardonay!!! Wishing you lots of luck and perserverence!!! ;)

Answer 5

Sometimes kids only need a certain amount of sleep. My sister has a three year old, and the kid never sleeps! She stays up late (which sucks for my sister because she likes to go to bed around 10 pm) and when she goes to bed (usually around 10:30, but only if my sister puts her foot down), she gets up at five the next morning. After the Doc checked her out, he concluded that unless she was tired, or showing signs of irritability throughout the day, she just didn't need sleep. Now my sister just leaves cereal out on the table with a bowl, and a small glass of milk or juice in the fridge, and her daughter gets up and gets it for herself and watches TV until everyone else gets up. It probably isn't the most healthy situation for a three year old to watch her kids shows for two hours every day, but I can't blame my sister for wanting to sleep in until 7 am. 5 is just a little too early!

Answer 6

My son also stalls. He is 7. Some of it is age. A routine is key but sometimes families are incapable of this. But I found a few things that help. Stimulus. Take away ALL things that could contribute to "better than sleep" activities. For us this meant a sleep room and a toy room, difficult with a space issue but so helpful. Second, try a sport in the evening. Helps with food digestion and energy expense. We do TaeKwonDO. Slow enough, helps focus, respect, and self esteem. Lastly feeling like he won't be missing anything could help. Shut down all activities by other family members long enough for him to get settled.....

One last thing. Ask your doctor about Melatonin, a natural source for helping the mind slow down enough to shut down.

Answer 7

11 PM to 7 AM is 8 hours sleep!!! Why do you want him to sleep longer? With my two kids: I laid in bed next to them and read: at first to them; and as they aged, with them. This lasted from 8 PM (9PM when "The Walton's were on at 8PM) until about 10 or 11PM when they fell asleep. I realize it is a huge investment of time for you and/or your spouse. Still, it paid off, handsomely. They both grew up to liking school and loving to read books. Warning: they wanted to buy so many books at Borders I had to double their weekend chores so they could earn enough money. (If you don't have the $ - the library is cool!)

Answer 8

You failed to mention whether your son suffers from hyperactivity. If he does, try giving him a can of Diet Coke or Diet Pepsi around 8:00 every night. Caffeine is a stimulant, just like Ritalin and Adderall; and stimulants have the opposite of their usual affect in persons with hyperactivity. I myself am a serious coffee drinker - I have Adult ADHD, and it helps keep me from bouncing off the walls.

If he isn't hyper, perhaps the trouble is that he needs time to wind down before bedtime? In this case, beginning two hours before you're going to put him to bed, tell him he has two hours left; then steer him toward activities aimed at calming him down. Jigsaw puzzles, a favorite - soothing! - video, coloring with Mom and so on are all good activities that help calm down children. Continue to update him as to the time as well, letting him know when there's one hour to go, then half an hour, fifteen minutes and so on until it's time to put things away and get ready for bed.

A bedtime routine helps as well. Whether you bathe your son each night or not, a warm bubble bath taken forty-five minutes prior to getting into bed does wonders to help relax and calm a child down for bed. Once he's in his P.J.'s and he's tucked in, stay with him for a while and read him two or three stories. This gives him time to adjust to being in bed without the transition being quite so dramatic. Some kids simply don't do well with change, understand? So easing him into his bedtime, and his bed, might be the solution to your problem. I wish you luck!

By the way, if your son is till taking afternoon naps, discontinue them immediately!!!!

Answer 9

start a bed time routine. say you eat dinner at 6, by 6:30 he should be in a bath, speak quietly to him, make sure he is warm and calm, this should take abouy 15 to 20 minutes. Then very calmly and quiety put him in pj's that are warm, tuck him in and read him a calm bedtime story. Then turn off the lights and leave him. It may take a few days but a routine will settle him and he will start sleeping! good luck

Answer 10

Dont get prescribed medicines for your eight year old please this will affect him later in life.

Get him to do something active for about and an hour or half an hour. This will get him to sleep better. Or else give him something millky, or even horlicks. Or just make him go to bed a little later.

scaryshez know what shes talking about

Answer 11

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