9 year old not sleeping at night....
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I have an issue with my younger DD. She is not going to sleep at night. My DH and I keep catching her up playing at 1 or 2 in the morning. She has always been a night owl but this is getting really frustrating. We catch her because we will keep hearing little things like a weird bump or something and sneak upstiars and find her playing in the dark in her room or in the bathroom, so quietly that no one would normally hear. I don't know what to do about this. I know what nights she does it because the next morning she is very hard to deal with and fights me about everything while getting ready for school.
She is the sneakiest and quietest child ever when she wants to be and 3/4 the time we don't catch her, but the next morning I know she was up late.
I am so extremely tired of this that I am considering buying a wireless web cam so we can check on her to make sure she is not playing, but I really don't want to do this.
Has anyone else had this problem?
Also my DH is up playing games and things on his computer until about 2 every night but it is not loud enough to even keep me awake in the same room so I know this can't be what is keeping her up.
Does anyone have any suggestions on how to teach her to go to bed even though she is not really sleepy?
I know that is what I have to do because I have to get up so early that I just have to make myself go to sleep even when I am not sleepy.
Would removing the toys from her bedroom and that area help?
Does she exercise enough during the day? What about caffeine or candy?
Is she sick and can't breathe well lying down?
I don't have much to offer, I'm sorry..maybe others can help?
I'm eager to hear what other moms have to say to this. My dd is 9yo and is also having trouble sleeping. She's the type that needs a lot of sleep and she gets tucked in around 8:30 each night. Often, she comes out at 11:00 or I'll check on her before I go to sleep and she's wide awake. I do know that my dd is an anxious type and will lie there and worry about things. Maybe your dd is playing to take her mind off things that are upsetting her? We've gotten my dd a journal and she writes in it each night from 8-8:30 and it seems to be helping a little.
Do you have a solid bedtime routine? I know we'd let her routine lapse a little since she was getting older but I think we need to tighten it up again to get her into sleep mode. Any stimulating play before bed or even computer or video games? Some kids are just more susceptible to things like that and if she's already a night owl, it might not be a good combination. I really hope you find something that helps.
My oldest ds is just like this, a night owl! I would catch him playing his gameboy under the covers, reading with a flashlight, etc.
It has been much better lately....this is what has helped....first he can't have any sugar after dinner. We have found that this will keep him up. My youngest can eat sugar right before bed and be fine, but my oldest can't. We have a routine, that we do every night, even if it is on the weekends, and we try and keep his bedtime consistant. At bedtime, he showers, brushes his teeth, etc...then either dh or I will read with him for 20-30 minutes. Then, it is lights out. I have not been catching him up the last few weeks. I think the cutting off of sugar, the nice warm bath, and a consistant routine has really helped.
I also wanted to add, my ds worries A LOT! If there is anything bugging him, he can't sleep. So, could there be anything bothering her?
My dd has been struggling with falling to sleep too. She has for a couple of years now and is 9 also. I have my dd read from 8-8:30. She then puts on some sleepy music and listens to that as the reading slows her down. If she is still awake by 9-9:30, we have told her to turn her light on and read a half hour or so and then try going to sleep again.
There are some great cds out there that are made to help induce sleep, but the person listening will need to be relaxed to some degree before listening to it or it will just bug them because that is not where they are at.
Tara, since your dd seems to struggle with this more than mine, I can only make suggestions like taking a warm/hot bath just before bed and then putting on some music (I find for myself the music can't have words or I focus on them too much). If after trying some of the suggestions from the board that you feel will work and you are still having issues, I would contact your Dr. It might just be a phase she is going through and may need some medical help to get through it and will then be fine.
Well her bedtime routine is pretty consistant. She stays up until 9 but her bedtime routine starts at 8:30 with either a warm bath or hot shower depending on her mood. Then she brushes her teeth and gives us hugs and kisses and is off to bed.
As for sugar she does get some sort of snack at night but normally it is fruit or something like that.
As for taking the toys she plays with away, we have tried that then she sneaks into her older sister's room and takes her toys to play with, or she plays in the bathroom with water and nothing else.
I do know that she worries about weird things sometimes, but as far as I can tell she hasn't had anything that has been upsetting her lately. I try to talk to her and make sure everything is alright but she won't always talk to me. She thinks she will get herself into trouble if she does which isn't true but I don't know how to reassure her of that.
I am going to make sure we keep her away from sugar after dinner and try to encourage her to go outside and play more in the evenings before dinner but it is so hot most of the time that she doesn't want to be outside.
Thanks for the help.
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