How might you get a child to sleep more?
Discussion
Our middle offspring (he's 7) isn't sleeping enough. He gets aggressive and short-tempered, and actually fell asleep in class last week. We're at our wits end trying to figure out what to do about it, so I figured I'd ask on here for any suggestions.
He goes to bed at 19:30, and is asleep within seconds. As far as we're aware, his sleep is uninterrupted through the night, but the problem is that he wakes up stupidly early! 06:00 is a real lie-in for him, and 05:00 is pretty normal.
We've tried putting him to bed earlier, and he just wakes up at 04:30. We've tried putting him to bed later, and he still wakes up stupidly early.
We put the TV remote, laptop, his DS and anything else of that ilk out of reach before we go to bed so that he doesn't have any particular over-stimulation to look forward to in the mornings, but still he's absolutely always the first one downstairs!
Anyone have any suggestions?
He goes to bed at 19:30, and is asleep within seconds. As far as we're aware, his sleep is uninterrupted through the night, but the problem is that he wakes up stupidly early! 06:00 is a real lie-in for him, and 05:00 is pretty normal.
We've tried putting him to bed earlier, and he just wakes up at 04:30. We've tried putting him to bed later, and he still wakes up stupidly early.
We put the TV remote, laptop, his DS and anything else of that ilk out of reach before we go to bed so that he doesn't have any particular over-stimulation to look forward to in the mornings, but still he's absolutely always the first one downstairs!
Anyone have any suggestions?
what time does he eat?
does he have a snack before bed?
does he get any exercise after school, proper outside running around.
you also mention you put the tv remote, laptop and ds out of reach. My 7 year old wouldn't even thing of putting TV on unless I said so, doesn't have a laptop or ds. IMO they are for older kids, sounds as if your kid needs more actual play, and less playing on tech. this is not a criticism, so please don't take it as such.
edit: 7.30 is a good time for a 7 year old.
does he have a snack before bed?
does he get any exercise after school, proper outside running around.
you also mention you put the tv remote, laptop and ds out of reach. My 7 year old wouldn't even thing of putting TV on unless I said so, doesn't have a laptop or ds. IMO they are for older kids, sounds as if your kid needs more actual play, and less playing on tech. this is not a criticism, so please don't take it as such.
edit: 7.30 is a good time for a 7 year old.
Edited by Efbe on Thursday 7th February 23:44
Efbe said:
what time does he eat?
does he have a snack before bed?
does he get any exercise after school, proper outside running around.
you also mention you put the tv remote, laptop and ds out of reach. My 7 year old wouldn't even thing of putting TV on unless I said so, doesn't have a laptop or ds. IMO they are for older kids, sounds as if your kid needs more actual play, and less playing on tech. this is not a criticism, so please don't take it as such.
edit: 7.30 is a good time for a 7 year old.
He gets just as much exercise and his older sister and younger brother, and spends no more time with any electronic devices than either of them. Neither of them have any sort of sleep issue, and he's still always the first in the family to wake up when we're on holiday (camping) where there's no TV, laptop or DS to access at any point.does he have a snack before bed?
does he get any exercise after school, proper outside running around.
you also mention you put the tv remote, laptop and ds out of reach. My 7 year old wouldn't even thing of putting TV on unless I said so, doesn't have a laptop or ds. IMO they are for older kids, sounds as if your kid needs more actual play, and less playing on tech. this is not a criticism, so please don't take it as such.
edit: 7.30 is a good time for a 7 year old.
The electronic devices are not the cause of the issue - I just mentioned them removing them from a perspective of making sure he doesn't have anything he's particularly anticipating getting up for.
Efbe said:
ok cool
how is his personality and build in general as compared to his siblings?
He's nice and sweet (when he's not knackered!), makes friends really easily and is very popular at school. When he's tired, he's an absolute git!how is his personality and build in general as compared to his siblings?
In terms of build, he's fairly short for his age, but then his little brother isn't exactly a beanpole, and nor am I for that matter! His weight is bang on where it's supposed to be (not something I can lay claim to myself, sadly).
hmmm, does food pick him up, specifically fruit and also sugary food?
Our 7 year old was a little similar, we let her read until about 8 if she wants and this helped a bit.
Our 5 year old also struggles after food. taking an apple and drink along to school when she is picked up, and letting her have that in the car has helped a lot.
Our 7 year old was a little similar, we let her read until about 8 if she wants and this helped a bit.
Our 5 year old also struggles after food. taking an apple and drink along to school when she is picked up, and letting her have that in the car has helped a lot.
Efbe said:
hmmm, does food pick him up, specifically fruit and also sugary food?
Our 7 year old was a little similar, we let her read until about 8 if she wants and this helped a bit.
Our 5 year old also struggles after food. taking an apple and drink along to school when she is picked up, and letting her have that in the car has helped a lot.
Hmm... That's another area where he's different to the other two. They'll both eat pretty much anything, whereas he is a supremely fussy little bugger when it comes to food.Our 7 year old was a little similar, we let her read until about 8 if she wants and this helped a bit.
Our 5 year old also struggles after food. taking an apple and drink along to school when she is picked up, and letting her have that in the car has helped a lot.
He doesn't go actively looking for food when he gets up though, so I'm not sure if he's actually waking up through hunger.
Kermit power said:
Efbe said:
hmmm, does food pick him up, specifically fruit and also sugary food?
Our 7 year old was a little similar, we let her read until about 8 if she wants and this helped a bit.
Our 5 year old also struggles after food. taking an apple and drink along to school when she is picked up, and letting her have that in the car has helped a lot.
Hmm... That's another area where he's different to the other two. They'll both eat pretty much anything, whereas he is a supremely fussy little bugger when it comes to food.Our 7 year old was a little similar, we let her read until about 8 if she wants and this helped a bit.
Our 5 year old also struggles after food. taking an apple and drink along to school when she is picked up, and letting her have that in the car has helped a lot.
He doesn't go actively looking for food when he gets up though, so I'm not sure if he's actually waking up through hunger.
Have you tried putting him in a onesy(sp?) to see if more warmth keeps him in bed longer, or stripping him off, which always worked for me. My 7 yo sleeps longer without pyjamas, but my 5 yo sleeps better with think pyjamas.
As a kid I was also an early riser. Similar characteristics to your son. As daft as it might sound, my parents dealt with it by getting me to have an afternoon nap after I'd got home from school.
I would then still get packed off to bed at 8pm and rise at my usual 5am (or earlier) but I was getting more hours sleep in a 24 hour period.
It obviously wasn't popular with me at the time, but not all decisions a parent makes which are in the child's best interest are going to be welcomed with open arms.
I would then still get packed off to bed at 8pm and rise at my usual 5am (or earlier) but I was getting more hours sleep in a 24 hour period.
It obviously wasn't popular with me at the time, but not all decisions a parent makes which are in the child's best interest are going to be welcomed with open arms.
BlackVanDyke said:
What time does the central heating come on in your house?
I was getting caught by this but it took me an entire winter to realise.
Other thing that helped me a LOT was proper thick lined curtains with blinds behind them to keep the room properly dark.
They have blackout blinds in their room, and the problem is year round (ie. Continued when the heating isn't coming on at all). It's highly frustrating!I was getting caught by this but it took me an entire winter to realise.
Other thing that helped me a LOT was proper thick lined curtains with blinds behind them to keep the room properly dark.
Resurrecting an old thread but did you ever get anywhere with this to improve it?
My youngest is 6 and sounds the same, he's awake every morning at 4:15-4:30. He goes for a wee, then often 10 mins later a dump. He goes back to his bed but rarely goes to sleep. He usually comes back in by 5:30 and will sometimes kick off and start waking the rest of the kids up ( 3 older sisters)
He's been like this for ages, 2-3 years or more and I have been mostly dealing with it, I am a lighter sleeper than the wife generally.
We have recently started trying to put him to bed later, he was going at 7-730 now we have moved to 8. He is still up at the same time. We started this about a week ago and I do wonder whether we just need to stick to it and he will eventually crack. The knock on effect is that the others are going to bed later and are all getting tired and grumpy too especially when the boy wakes them up before 5am!
He was once a good sleeper until he worked out climbing out of his cot!
We are considering a sleep therapist but at over £300 for a meet up and week of help I want to exhaust all options first
My youngest is 6 and sounds the same, he's awake every morning at 4:15-4:30. He goes for a wee, then often 10 mins later a dump. He goes back to his bed but rarely goes to sleep. He usually comes back in by 5:30 and will sometimes kick off and start waking the rest of the kids up ( 3 older sisters)
He's been like this for ages, 2-3 years or more and I have been mostly dealing with it, I am a lighter sleeper than the wife generally.
We have recently started trying to put him to bed later, he was going at 7-730 now we have moved to 8. He is still up at the same time. We started this about a week ago and I do wonder whether we just need to stick to it and he will eventually crack. The knock on effect is that the others are going to bed later and are all getting tired and grumpy too especially when the boy wakes them up before 5am!
He was once a good sleeper until he worked out climbing out of his cot!
We are considering a sleep therapist but at over £300 for a meet up and week of help I want to exhaust all options first
Silver940 said:
Resurrecting an old thread but did you ever get anywhere with this to improve it?
My youngest is 6 and sounds the same, he's awake every morning at 4:15-4:30. He goes for a wee, then often 10 mins later a dump. He goes back to his bed but rarely goes to sleep. He usually comes back in by 5:30 and will sometimes kick off and start waking the rest of the kids up ( 3 older sisters)
He's been like this for ages, 2-3 years or more and I have been mostly dealing with it, I am a lighter sleeper than the wife generally.
We have recently started trying to put him to bed later, he was going at 7-730 now we have moved to 8. He is still up at the same time. We started this about a week ago and I do wonder whether we just need to stick to it and he will eventually crack. The knock on effect is that the others are going to bed later and are all getting tired and grumpy too especially when the boy wakes them up before 5am!
He was once a good sleeper until he worked out climbing out of his cot!
We are considering a sleep therapist but at over £300 for a meet up and week of help I want to exhaust all options first
first and easiest things to change are meal time, snack time(if you have one), time of last drink and temperature of room.My youngest is 6 and sounds the same, he's awake every morning at 4:15-4:30. He goes for a wee, then often 10 mins later a dump. He goes back to his bed but rarely goes to sleep. He usually comes back in by 5:30 and will sometimes kick off and start waking the rest of the kids up ( 3 older sisters)
He's been like this for ages, 2-3 years or more and I have been mostly dealing with it, I am a lighter sleeper than the wife generally.
We have recently started trying to put him to bed later, he was going at 7-730 now we have moved to 8. He is still up at the same time. We started this about a week ago and I do wonder whether we just need to stick to it and he will eventually crack. The knock on effect is that the others are going to bed later and are all getting tired and grumpy too especially when the boy wakes them up before 5am!
He was once a good sleeper until he worked out climbing out of his cot!
We are considering a sleep therapist but at over £300 for a meet up and week of help I want to exhaust all options first
play around with these, just remember to leave a good few days on a new routine and not expect a miracle in a day!
Efbe said:
first and easiest things to change are meal time, snack time(if you have one), time of last drink and temperature of room.
play around with these, just remember to leave a good few days on a new routine and not expect a miracle in a day!
Cheers, We have changed the bed time routine and bed time recently, about 5 days into that, I have read it can take a couple of weeks for it to take effect if it's going to so pushing on with that at the moment. I think a reward chart might be in order as well to at least try and stop him waking the others.play around with these, just remember to leave a good few days on a new routine and not expect a miracle in a day!
Might not mention that to the wife, we were hoping school would mend him but 18 months in nope! My young 'uns go to bed at 7 and my 8 year old goes to bed at 7 but reads until 8. They all get up between 5:30 and 6:30. It's fine, don't worry.
The following is my opinion and in no way constitutes advice or a judgment of any kind...
If he's falling asleep in class or is shattered by the early afternoon it's more likely a dietary issue. 10 hours sleep a night should be enough even for growing kids, he's probably taking too much sugary food and not enough filling food, you know porridge and stuff - see an expert for real information.
As a side note, there are plenty of kids at my daughters age in school who go to bed after 10 and wake up late, always rushing to make the school for 9 - it's horses for courses, somewhere in your routine you'll find you've programmed a preference for early rising, either by being that way yourself or wanting to get shut of him in the evenings. FWIW my opinion is that early rises have a societal advantage, nothing good happens past 10 oclock at night really and brains work best in the morning, my kids have a morning routine of homework and other stuff that keeps them entertained.
The following is my opinion and in no way constitutes advice or a judgment of any kind...
If he's falling asleep in class or is shattered by the early afternoon it's more likely a dietary issue. 10 hours sleep a night should be enough even for growing kids, he's probably taking too much sugary food and not enough filling food, you know porridge and stuff - see an expert for real information.
As a side note, there are plenty of kids at my daughters age in school who go to bed after 10 and wake up late, always rushing to make the school for 9 - it's horses for courses, somewhere in your routine you'll find you've programmed a preference for early rising, either by being that way yourself or wanting to get shut of him in the evenings. FWIW my opinion is that early rises have a societal advantage, nothing good happens past 10 oclock at night really and brains work best in the morning, my kids have a morning routine of homework and other stuff that keeps them entertained.
Edited by FredClogs on Monday 25th January 18:21
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