7 year old boy, cant get to sleep - any ideas?

pdoff

you can get baby bedtime bath but not sure if works. didn't for ds1 & ds2 can't use it cos of excema. you can get fluffy toys (we have a monkey) with a lavendar bag inside that u heat up in the microwave. very comforting.
not much help but good luck!

Threadhead

I just wanted to agree with Careful girl (I think) who said tell them how tired they are/look. My 9 yo DS wont sleep, and this works a treat.

Poppy9

As a last resort there's always a drop of whiskey in the nighttime drink:rotfl:

Careful_girl

Only for the adults!! Calpol works well!! I have been known to try to encourage the whole class to take some.......!!!!

abbecer

Kyle,

I got married in Gretna on New Years Eve 2005. Ceremony was at 5.30pm in candlelight. Everything was amazing. The locals and staff are so hospitable and can't do enough for you. Good luck with it all, you'll have a ball!! Let us all know how you get on.

Rebecca x:rotfl:

Poppy9

Careful_girl wrote:

Only for the adults!! Calpol works well!! I have been known to try to encourage the whole class to take some.......!!!!

Calpol won't make kids sleepy. It can have the opposite effect due to colouring and artifical sugars. I think it only appears to make them sleep as you only give when poorly and they are being kept awake by headache etc.

Careful_girl

But it is CHEAPER than Whiskey!!!!:rotfl:

xmaslolly76

Something called phenergan (haven't spelled that correctly but its close enough) is a sedative and can be used if your desperate kids get dosed up before we go on holiday so they sleep all the way there. Can be bought over the counter as it is used for travel sickness. Does he get woken up at the same time everyday or do they let him sleep if he doesnt have to go school could be making things worse if they dont get him up. They could try resetting his body clock by letting him a very late night then not letting him sleep in or knapp during the day.

Goodluck hope it gets better soon :-)

newUKshopper

We all have different body clocks. I have had problems falling asleep all my life and usually have to read for at least a couple of hours or watch something boring on tv before I fall asleep. A few years ago I participated in a medical test and was diagnosed with something called RLS that I had never heard of before. Apparently that has something to do with my sleeping pattern. People with RLS tend to fall asleep late and want to sleep in the mornings instead. It doesn't matter how tired I am, when I go to bed, I hardly ever fall asleep before 3 or 4 am.

There are plenty of other signs you might want to watch out for. How is he during the day? Can he sit still or is he constantly findng excuses to stand up? When he sleeps, does he lie still or are his feet moving a lot? Has he complained about any problems with his feet while in bed?

This is not a serious condition and usually no treatment is necessary but maybe your sister should ask his doctor if RLS could be the case.

I'm sure they have already tried everything but with my son the following seems to work: Avoid fast food and too much sugar, especially after 2pm. Make sure he gets some physical activities that make him tired in late afternoon. Healthy dinner and no sugary drinks after 5pm. A relaxing moment with partents after dinner. Avoid too much excitement. A warm bath (a calming/relaxing bath oils might help). Straight to bed after the bath, read together for about 20 minutes in bed. Turn on the radio or listen to a cd. Ask him what music he wants to listen to, what is relaxing for the parents might be just plain boring to a kid. I wasn't very excited when I heard my son playing Rammstein and Iron Maiden in bed but if it helps him sleep, why not? (He doesn't understand German or English so I didn't have to worry about the language).

Good luck to your sister and nephew.

zzzzzz

black-saturn

He needs a room with no distractions in it. No TV, video, games console or busy wallpaper. Instead neutral wall colours, soft lighting and only books to amuse him. If he comes downstairs or gets up calmly put him back to bed. In the morning award him for the times he did stay in bed.