Advice on 8 year old sleeping

Shepherd1

Hi hope someone can give me some advice or experiences. My daughter is eight and terrified to be upstairs alone at night, she goes to bed at 8pm and I sit next door in my room. She doesn't fall asleep till after 10 so I basically do nothing at nite but sit in my room. Am I sending her to bed to early and how do I get her to sleep with me downstairs.

Thanks

clairec79

My 9 and 10 year olds go up at that time so I don't think you are sending her too early.

Could you get a baby monitor so you can hear her in her room so she knows if she calls out you will hear her and come in

globalds

Shepherd1 wrote: »

She doesn't fall asleep till after 10 so I basically do nothing at nite but sit in my room.

Thanks

Set your PC up in your room and spend a couple of hours on MSE ...

moomoomama27

My 14 yr old goes to bed at 10pm, so theres no way it's too early. My 8 yr old is in bed asleep by 8pm.

Can you get a night light, leave a radio/cd player on? What reason is she scared of going to bed alone?

McKneff

Dont fall into the trap of getting her to fall asleep downstairs, youre making a rod for your own back.

Shepherd1

She says she is scared of monsters, spiders anything she can think of really, she wants me to call in every ten minutes to make sure she is ok?

I don't have a pc in bedroom but I do sit and read it on my phone, which I am doing now as she is still not asleep.

Oops forgot to say she has the hall light on and bathroom light and door wide open

Mumto5

My brother was terrified of being upstairs alone and assured us bears and monsters lived under his bed. my mum got some story tapes and let them playing in his bedroom on a cassette deck he used to fall asleep listening to them. She subscribed to some weekly magazine collection called Storyteller from the newsagent and he really looked forward to the next chapter of the story and forgot about the bears and monsters. It cost her a small fortune but she has lent it out to friends who have had problems like yours. This obviously was years ago so you may be better with a cd player.

Shepherd1

I don't mean I want her to sleep with me downstairs, I mean I want her to fall asleep in her room with me downstairs and not sitting in my bedroom.

pigpen

My 8 y/o goes to bed at 7... and if she tried that one with me I'd be telling her not to be so silly and get to sleep before she lost priveleges for a week!!

She is plenty old enough to know there is no such thing as monsters and that spiders won't hurt half as much as no consoles for a week!

I think you are being a total muggins!!!.. but I think you might know that

tanith

I think you are being to soft with her too. She is old enough to understand that monsters aren't real, she is manipulating you and you are letting her... what happens if you don't go upstairs with her? She might whinge and moan even turn on the tears but nothing is going to happen and she'll get over it when she realises that you aren't taken in by her anymore.. cruel to be kind comes to mind, what will happen if she want to go for a sleepover or a school trip? Actually maybe if you get a pal to come for a sleepover would be a good way of testing the theory because odds on she won't make a fuss with her mate there...

choccymoose

a nine yr old child I work with had this problem for some children bedtime is stressful and insecurities come to the forefront. He was fine in any other sense but this was a real cause for concern and stress.

The soloution ? A ball of string, he had one by his bed his mum held the other end downstairs. If he was feeling anxious he would tug on the string and mum would tug back so he would know that she was still there and there was a physical connection between them, only used it for a couple of weeks. (remember safety aspect though, remove the string once child is asleep and have discussion with child about importance of string remaining next to bed not on bed)