My son is 4 and he refuses to go to sleep until midnight, and gets up at 7 or 8 a.m., is he getting enough?

Question

I have tried everything to get him to go to sleep earlier, but he will just lie in his bed and hum and sing, even for hours (his room is quiet and dark no tv or anything). He won't go to sleep before midnight. My husband and I go to bed at 10 pm, and he still won't go to sleep even with the house completely silent. I just hear him in his room humming. He never sleeps later than 8 am, and he doesn't take naps. Is he getting enough sleep? How can I encourage him to sleep longer??

Answer 1

if you get an answer to get him to sleep more let me know...lol

i would beleive that he is getting enough sleep though.

my 5 year right from birth was one of those children that only needed an hour or twos sleep and then was good to go. Drove my husband and I mad, but the docs arnt worried because she is developing perfectly and showing no slowing down.

we just lucked out with a child who need minimual sleep.

Answer 2

Well he's definitely not getting enough sleep for his age he should get at least 10 hours every night.


Make your childs day have activities that will make him tired but don't over work it.

Include a winding-down period in the routine.

Stick to a bedtime, alerting your child both half an hour and 10 minutes beforehand.

Allow your child to choose which pajamas to wear, stuffed animal to take to bed, etc.

Consider playing soft, soothing music.

Don't give your baby or toddler a bottle (of breast milk, formula, or any sugar-containing drink) to aid sleep. This can cause a serious dental problem called "baby bottle tooth decay" because the fluids tend to pool in the child's mouth.

Tuck your child into bed snugly for a feeling of security.

Good Luck

Answer 3

Try taking him for a walk before bedtime. Then put him in a warm bath. This may help.
I have 4 boys and my second son who is now 10, never slept more than 7 hours when he was 4. He still averages about 7 hours each night.
All my others needed around 10 hours at that age.
He is never tired during the day and development has always been normal.
( Connie Mom of 4 boy s )

Answer 4

Went through this with my child. I try to take her outside for at least an hour every day (she's 3). She likes to run around quite a bit. She used to stay up all hours of the night when she was 2. So I started taking her for walks. She goes to sleep at 8:00 pm now and wakes up at 7:00 am. Huge change.

Answer 5

First of all, 4 year old boys should have AT LEAST 12 hours of sleep. If he doesn't take naps try getting him to. One night you can even show him that Mommy and Daddy fall asleep much earlier than he does, and have a mini sleepover in your son's room. But the catch is that you and your husband don't really fall asleep, pretend to. You can also give him warm milk BEFORE he goes to bed or get a CD player and put in some nice classical soft music or even lullabies. If you do give him milk, don't put chocolate in it because that has sugar and then he would never fall asleep. Hope this helps! ~nat

Answer 6

My friends had this problem with both of their kids. They ended up on prescription sleeping meds for kids (which sounds awful but worked) and a sleep program to re-program them basically and within a month they were back on track sleeping 8pm - 7am.

Maybe he is overtired too? Try putting him down for an hour nap at midday then wake him up and this will actually help him fall asleep later (about 7.30-8pm for a 4yr old). sounds like he would be up longer, but sleeping actually makes you sleepy if that makes sense.

good luck

Answer 7

this is a bad habit..........you have to care ur child ok