4 year old insomnia?? At my wits end!!

tinkerbellsmum_2

my daugther was in and out our room till she was 4 then she asked for a cabin bed and we argreed if she slept in her own bed all night long she agree and we got it and she did from then on. don't know whether its cause she was scared to get down in the night (mind she never shouted) or she was scared we would take it away but it worked.
my son general is a good sleeper but sometimes he wakes and i can't seem to find the cause and it will turn out he wanted his nappy changing or he was cold/hot or his clothes wasn't comfy
what time does she go to bed? what time is first time she wakes?

msb5262

Hello OP,
You sound desperate and I'm not surprised - sorry you're going through this.
Can you give a bit more background here? You say your DD is awake for hours on end - maybe you could describe what happens during this time. For instance, is she up and moving around, are the lights on, does she cry or just appear in your bedroom, does she say why she woke, what is your approach when she first wakes?
Sorry to sound like an interrogation but it's hard to get a picture of the situation without a bit more detail.
MsB

headcrash27

squibbs25 wrote: »

You have my sympathines, i know where you are coming from.
My dd is 8 and still wakes up, admitidly not as often now as what it used to be.
I can get up to her 2 maybe 3 times a night some nights.
Other nights she struggles to wind down and go to sleep.
We have tried to teach her to stay in her bedroom, sometimes she does other times she doesnt.
She's already come downstairs once tonight (her dad sent her straight back upstairs).
For me it's like she doesnt know when to switch off!
The lack of disturbed sleep is so fustrating, not just for her but for all of us.
Having an 8 year old crying in the night because she cant sleep is no fun for any of us (neighbours included).
It was easier when she was a baby.

I cant give you any magic remody's but can honestly say i know how you feel.
My sister doesnt even have to get up to my niece in the night as she sleeps right through and she's only 16 months. (jelous....... me........nah!!!!!) :rotfl:

Sorry to hear you are having the same problems, have you found anything that has helped at all? It's difficult isn't it because i have thought of taking her to the gp but i don't see what he can do other than medication and i don't really want to go down that road...

headcrash27

mandi wrote: »

Maybe my answer is over simplistic so I apologise in advance , but would it be worth putting the stairgate back ?

Sometimes the most obvious of things are not that obvious when you worry about your children

I would LOVE to do this, but she will scream and shout at the gate for up to an hour which disturbs our next door neighbour.

headcrash27

tinkerbellsmum wrote: »

my daugther was in and out our room till she was 4 then she asked for a cabin bed and we argreed if she slept in her own bed all night long she agree and we got it and she did from then on. don't know whether its cause she was scared to get down in the night (mind she never shouted) or she was scared we would take it away but it worked.
my son general is a good sleeper but sometimes he wakes and i can't seem to find the cause and it will turn out he wanted his nappy changing or he was cold/hot or his clothes wasn't comfy
what time does she go to bed? what time is first time she wakes?

We have tried this as she is desperate for a cabin bed! However even the promise of this won't persuade her to stay in bed. We have however ordered one and it will be here in about 4 weeks. I'm hoping she'll love it so much she won't want to leave it, but i have my doubts lol!

She goes to bed about 7pm and wakes at 6.40 when my husband's alarm goes off. She is up for awake for at least a couple of hours during the night though.

mandi

headcrash27 wrote: »

I would LOVE to do this, but she will scream and shout at the gate for up to an hour which disturbs our next door neighbor.

I understand headcrash sorry should have read you OP properly .:o

Would it be worth asking her what she would like at bedtime ? she is young but old enough to say what she wants .

Perhaps explain to your neighbor . I'm sure they will understand.

I feel your pain my oldest was 12 before he settled

headcrash27

msb5262 wrote: »

Hello OP,
You sound desperate and I'm not surprised - sorry you're going through this.
Can you give a bit more background here? You say your DD is awake for hours on end - maybe you could describe what happens during this time. For instance, is she up and moving around, are the lights on, does she cry or just appear in your bedroom, does she say why she woke, what is your approach when she first wakes?
Sorry to sound like an interrogation but it's hard to get a picture of the situation without a bit more detail.
MsB

She always has her her dimmer switch on low but she will usually come and wake me up during the night and say she has had a bad dream and can't sleep. She won't cry unless i suggest she goes back to her bed. She asks me to make her a bed next to me, so i go and get her mattress and bedding and put it next to my bed. She will then fidget and whisper to her cuddly toys, sometimes pop in and out of her bedroom. She will very rarely get toys or anything out, she usually just lies in her bed chatting to herself. I tell her to be quiet which she is for a few minutes but then she forgets and starts whispering again. She eventually falls back to sleep, sometimes i come downstairs until she's asleep, which can take a couple of hours on average.

It is always bad dreams that wake her, or noises such as pipes creaking etc. She is very fearful and has a lot of anxieties which is why she was previously referred to CAHMS. I try and be firm but kind when she wakes, i find if i tell her off for coming in or criticise she will start crying and i'm scared off setting her off and the neighbour waking up.

headcrash27

mandi wrote: »

I understand headcrash sorry should have read you OP properly .:o

Would it be worth asking her what she would like at bedtime ? she is young but old enough to say what she wants .

Perhaps explain to your neighbor . I'm sure they will understand.

I feel your pain my oldest was 12 before he settled

I ask her but she says she can't sleep unless she is near me or my dh, she will come up with 101 reasons as to why she can't stay in her bed. I have told the neighbour but she wasn't particulary understanding. She wasn't aggressive or anything but she is at her wits end too and said she'd like us to do something about the noise.

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

headcrash27 wrote: »

I would LOVE to do this, but she will scream and shout at the gate for up to an hour which disturbs our next door neighbour.

Tell the neighbour to **** off, it's not as if you're doing it deliberately.

Does she have any more useful suggestions than 'do something'?

Indie_Kid

Is there an event that has happened recently that has made her be like this?