advise needed - my 9 yr old son has difficulty getting off to sleep

meeps

would he lie and listen to a story cd? my son is 4 and goes to bed with a very set routine, and we leave him with a cd on - he stays still to listen as its on quietly and it calms him down and sends him off to sleep.

fad1211

meeps wrote: »

would he lie and listen to a story cd? my son is 4 and goes to bed with a very set routine, and we leave him with a cd on - he stays still to listen as its on quietly and it calms him down and sends him off to sleep.

i will probably give this a shot, thanks.

Reggie_Rebel

A story CD works for my two as well.

I agree that 9.00pm is too late. It could also be that he is eating too late as well.

righter

hi,my daughter has always had trouble sleeping. The dr said that they need less sleep than you think...however getting up has always been a nightmare for her....and us !!(ie she is grumpy,hostile,teary)

several things have helped,tapes with headphones,a humidifier,allowing her to go to sleep when she is ready,generally after us. sometimes ...more than i would like to admit,sleeping in our room when she is anxious.

I was like this as a child,and still do not sleep well,so i empathize with her fears (except my parents would never have let me into their room when upset)

To some extent it`s probably genetic,everybody has different sleep patterns/levels.
i have just had to learn to live with it,and the best thing we have done for her is to encourage her not to get worked up about it.

I`m sure you know all the stuff about routine,not too much stimulation, bath,hot milky drink ect.
good luck

morg_monster

When I was about 8 or 9 I used to worry my socks off about not getting enough sleep, though I don't think I was too bad. I remember looking at my alarm clock and thinking "Oh no! Its 9:10 and I'm still awake!" - seems hilarious now!
The thing that stopped me worrying was my mum telling me one night that it doesn't matter whether you are asleep or not as long as you are lying quietly and trying to keep relaxed, not thinking about anything too stressful. IE you get the same benefit from just lying there as being asleep! Haha. I realised when I was a teenager that this was a bit of a lie, but at the time it worked absolute wonders as it really broke the cycle of "can't sleep - worry about not sleeping - stay awake worrying".
I do still console myself with mum's words when I'm having trouble nodding off before a big day! I do really think that it is the worrying about lack of sleep that is much worse than the lack of sleep itself, since it is a self perpetuating cycle. Is he better at the weekends, when he knows it doesn't matter so much if he's a bit tired the next day?

Sarahjovi

My son is really bad at getting to sleep and is often awake until 11pm or later. He is nearly 12 now. He never slept well as a baby, and when he was a toddler I used to get up at 2am with him being wide awake and going back to bed at 5 or 6am (believe me I tried hard to get him to sleep though!) I beleive he just doesn't need as much sleep. My daughter is normally straight off to sleep at bedtime. Whilst my son listens to the radio (to keep the zombies in his mind at bay) and reading a book. When he was younger I did resort a couple of times to giving him some medicine to help him sleep, but didn't really like doing this.

I do agree with everyone that says put away any stimulation early, I sure it helps. And I have just agreed that when he turns 12 he can stay up an extra half an hour, he tells me all his friends stay up until 10!

Its a toughie, but you have to find what works for you!

Sarah

georgina_fenwick

My son (now 13) has Aspergers and ADHD, he used to have real trouble getting to sleep and has always suffered with really bad nightmares, so bad that i used to have to sit on his bed while he went to sleep, and that could be about 3 times on a bad night.

He was prescribed Melatonin tablets by his specialist years ago, and they really helped.

His specialist told me that your body produces melatonin but sometimes not enough of it and the tablets are not drugs but more a supplement.

I'm not suggesting tablets are the answer for you but they really helped us.

Georgina

minimacka

My ds (11) started to have night terrors where he litterally screams at the top of his voice and flings himself down the stairs (usually this is where i catch him). It was getting quite worrying so I took him to the doctors. She said that night terrors are diferent to nightmares because the person can remember a mare and not a terror, anyway she recommended no tv or dvd or games playing after 8pm also for him to relax with a book for about half an hour before bedtime. This has worked extremely well because his brain isnt racing from watching tv or playing on him games, its relaxed from reading. Also it has improved his readying skills no end. Even if he is late to bed he reads for a while just to settle himself down and relax. He said that before when he went to bed he couldnt stop thinking about things and that was stopping him going to sleep.

I hope that this helps you like it did us.

Tamara02

My Nephew goes to bed ok but he wakes up so early, sometimes 4am and he can be so demanding.
He is 5.
He wants a TV and DVD player in his room. What age do you think is suitable?

bonnie_2

It seems to be a long day for him being out till 6.30 every night. Maybe he needs some time with you. Instead of his time for an hour why not play games or read with him. Also i think homework at that time is too late. He must be exhausted. My kids go to girls brigade on a friday and that is it ,only so i can go to tesco's in peace.