My DD will be 4 in February and does not get enough sleep. I don't know what to do for her. I am very strict on bedtime and naptime, she has had a fairly consistent schedule most of her life. We nap right after lunch, usually around 12:30 or 1:00. Somedays, she naps great (2 hours on average). Some days (like today) she comes to me a little over an hour after I leave her room, so I know she "might" have gotten an hour of sleep. Today, she came to me and looked very sleepy and confused. I asked her why she was up and she said "Huh?" So I told her to go back to bed and sleep some more. We squared off for about half an hour before I admitted defeat. It's not that I don't want her up and keeping me company, I just don't think she sleeps enough. She has dark circles under her eyes all the time (some of which is hereditary) and complains of being tired and blames that for her misbehavior, particularly when we are out running errands.
Bedtime is usually 8 pm, sometimes earlier if the nap is short, occasionally later (Wed evening church, occasional dinners out). Many nights, she gets out of bed almost an hour after we put her down for water, potty, etc, and it is obvious she has not slept at all yet. She wakes up around 7 and is already yawning and "acting tired", meaning she won't follow directions and obey myself or my husband.
She is alot like me, and I suspect that one of the things that keeps her awake is a racing mind. Does anyone know of any natural sleep aids, teas, homeopathics, etc. that can help her? I think that a lot of her terrible three's is due to lack of sleep.
Martha - I just read a fabulously funny blog post yesterday that advocates melatonin. I would just write that recommendation, but the post is just too funny not to share - here's a link. I have the same problem and am considering picking some up this weekend...
http://www.babble.com/content/articles/features/personale...
Good luck! S.
My son is 2 1/2, and we have to "BATTLE" him for naps and bedtime! He also doesn't mind us, and when he is into something we don't want him doing, he goes "deaf" even though we are YELLING at him (doesn't flinch, turn his head...nothing; NO reaction). We have found out that these are symptoms of Autism Spectrum Disorders, which includes "full" autism (of course LOL), Asperger's, and PDD-NOS (a short term for Pervasive Developmental Disorder - Not Otherwise Specified), which is what my son has. Food allergies play a HUGE factor in these conditions, but they may not show up on a "regular" allergy test, because the foods simply alter the way the child's brain is working. Please email me, or call me, and we can discuss our children more thoroughly than we can here. Also, I'm curious as to whether your daughter is verbal, or if she seems to have "lost" any of her vocabulary.
Love to hear from you soon! ~J.~
____@____.com ###-###-#### (Home)
I would suggest no more naps. She may be getting to much during the day causing her to not be able to go to sleep.
I used to have this problem with my son everyday/night. Sometime after he turned 3 I stopped nap time. This inturn gave him an earlier bed time (not struggling till 11 trying to get him to sleep) at 9. He goes straight to sleep now and sleeps threw the night more often then before. He wakes up 12 hours later and he is much happier than before. He is now almost 4 and we just changed bed time to 8 and is doing well. We feed him, put on PJs, brush his teeth and send him to bed with a lovey (Curious Goerge). Most of the time any toy that he is into that day will work to go to bed with.
Sometimes I cant believe how easy bed time is and have to pinch myself. The bedtime thing used to be such a huge hassle.
Good luck,
T.
Ask her ped doc about melatonin...jeez...I can't remember the exact name, but you can ask the doc.
I don't have a lot of words for help, but if I were you, I would talk to the pediatrician about this and mention the possibilities of allergies (you said she has circles under her eyes and that is also a sign of allergies). Surely a pedi. has run into this before because kids are notorious for not wanting to go to bed!
T.
