Im Not Sleepy....

What a precocious (or clever) little girl you have. My girls each have a small flash light and are allowed to have a book or two in bed. If they aren't sleepy they look at the books (or read depending on their age). Since the room is still dark, it helps them to calm down and work towards getting sleepy. Good luck finding something that works! I loved the penny idea another mom shared!

I have a couple of suggestions.
1) after bath time, give her 10 minutes of quiet alone time in her room. She may need a break from people contact to get relaxed.
2) make sure snack is a good bedtime snack; nothing sugary. Try warm milk.
3) the bedtime may need to be varied. Could be too early or could be too late. I had a friend who was having trouble gettoing her young daughter to sleep, and counterintuitively, when she moved the bedtime earlier, problem solved. Child was overtired with a later bedtime, and that can make it hard to get to sleep.
4) If the problem persists, take her to the pediatrician for advice.
Best of luck!

Hi L.,
My daughter (now 10) is also active, and has always had difficulty winding down to sleep at night and staying asleep. We have a variety of strategies, most of which she needs to be reminded to use, including relaxation techniques (tensing then relaxing muscles, starting at the toes and moving up), reading before turning out the light, a 1mg tablet of melatonin before bed (Whole Foods sells one that the child can put under their tongue if they can't swallow pills yet), having Mom or Dad lay down with her and cuddle for a few minutes (this can be her time to talk about things that are on her mind but that she is reluctant to discuss in other contexts). White noise (we use a fan and/or air cleaner) is helpful, and she also has a "sound machine" which plays soothing sounds. Another factor is making sure that she has had enough physical activity every day, because that helps her get to sleep.
My daughter is also precocious and has had many issues that could not be resolved with "conventional wisdom" advice, such as the tried and true "bedtime routine" advice to solve sleeping problems. I know how frustrating this can be. I have to keep looking for solutions and trying different things. Then once I think I have a problem solved, she comes up with a new problem! Augh. This is draining. Other mothers of active, precocious girls are invaluable to me, because it helps to know I am not alone in my struggles. Good luck to you. She is surely a treasure, even if a lot of work!

All 3 of my kids have trouble winding down at night. A little massage works like magic. Experiment to see what is most calming for your daughter - each of my kids like a slightly different massage. My 8 year old likes a little foot rub, a little hand massage and he especially calms down when we rub his temples or the top of his head very firmly. My husband or I usually sing to him after reading to him and I always combine the singing with the massage - with the lights very low - works better than any drug I've ever seen. (in fact, he calls these "sleepy massages") He has very dry skin so in the winter we combine the massage with a lotion from a coco butter lotion bar from LUSH which has a lovely smell that is also soothing.(stores at Montgomery Mall and Tyson's corner or online). Good luck!

I know exactly what you mean. One of my boys was like that. He would go to bed at around 8pm and we'd hear him in there reading or singing or talking to his stuffed animals (or to himself - now sure!), but this would go on until 11pm or so. He was in school already but getting up early didn't really seem to bother him. Basically, since you can't force them to sleep (wouldn't that be nice!!), just give her some quiet things like books to occupy herself and tell her that she has to stay in bed with the lights out - except nightlight or small bedside lamp. Around 6 months ago, I noticed that my nocturnal boy is going to bed and sleep within 30 minutes or so. So it may just kind of correct itself on its own.

Good luck

I give my son Melatonin. Its a natural supplement and your body produces it anyway. He also has ADHD and has a horrible shutting his brain off at night to go to sleep. This has worked wonders for him. His pediatriocian recommended it. Ask her dr what they think about it. You can buy it pretty much anywhere I think...Giant, Walmart, Target. Good luck.

Hi,

Rachel H's response is funny! I had to laugh, but I'm writing because I'm concerned about all the suggestions to use melatonin to put your daughter to sleep. Here's an article on using melatoning in children: http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-03-02-kids-melat...
The main thing is to do any medication (or "supplement") with the approval/knowledge of your pediatrician. Also, remember that melatonin is naturally produced by the body. If you artificially supply it, the body will stop producing it as much and make the ability to sleep even harder for your daughter if you stop the supplement. Just be careful and try natural ways to stimulate her own melatonin production (put her to sleep during her "sleep window" See "Good Night, Sleep Tight" book by Kim West, turn down the lights, give her warm milk, etc.) Good luck!

L.,
Our 4 year does the same thing so we just tell him he can read quietly or play quietly in his room for a little while then he needs to get to bed. Heis not allowed to come out of his room or he will have to go right to bed. He usually plays a pretty short time and them turns out his light and puts himself in bed. At the beginning though he would sometimes just fall asleep on the floor so we checked on him before we went to bed and put him in his bed. Also, something else we tried in order to keep him in his room when he would start trying to come out was to put 4 pennies on the floor outside of his door and if he stayed in his room all night he got to keep them. But each time he came out of his room we would take one penny away. This worked so well!!
Good Luck.
M.

We use melatonin when our kids can't wind down. Its the natural brain hormone that your brain produces that induces sleep. My DS 8, gets 1/2 an mg and DD 3 gets 1/4 when needed. Works like a charm and helps promote normal sleep patterns.

Good luck, S.

She has found a trigger that should found works. You could play her bluff and say "Hey you think your nocturnal and your not supposed to sleep at night. Ok well than from now one you have to sleep all day and stay up at night. IF you make it through sleeping all day Which you prob. won't you let her stay up that night. Everyone is sleeping so tell her she can't leave her room, she has to stay quite and remind her all the time. Make it as boring as possible. Meaning since it's night time for everyone else there is no Tv or music. Anything that would be entertaining and make noise....lol She will prob. quit pretty quickly. good luck

Wow - sounds like you're talking to a 20 year old. Funny. My daughter is similar. Not sure if you're interested but there are many natural products on the market to help with children of this nature. Homeopathic, flower essence, herbal etc. If you're interested let me know - ____@____.com. I'd be happy to share my experiences with you.

-M.

I know if we eat dinner late or give my 2 year-old a snack too close to bedtime he can't fall asleep or wakes up in the middle of night. My advice would be either try giving her a snack earlier or don't give her a snack all together.

K.

No advice, but I had to giggle. My now 5yr old son also told me one night he was nocturnal. He also doesn't go to sleep easily. Good luck.

L. - a couple similar posts to my situation. If my 4 yr old eats too close to bedtime it wakes him up. Food is energy for the body and we don't need energy overnight. ANd the other poster that said being over tired causes problems getting to sleep - DITTO. The more active my son is during the day and the more worn out he is - the more difficult it is to get him to relax and sleep. Sometimes I can anticipate that and coax him into a nap in the afternoon. More sleep definately helps with his overall sleep pattern.