My daughter (5 yo) has been having trouble falling asleep lately. It started about a month ago when she had a few nights that we put her in bed and it took her a while to fall asleep. But, at that time, there were lots of things happening (her birthday, start of school, etc.) and we assumed she was just over excited. However, with the exception of a couple of nights since then, she pretty much can't fall asleep when we put her in bed. She's sometimes up for an hour or more after we leave her room. I wouldn't mind because she's quiet in there, but then she can't wake up in the morning for school. So, she's tired, it's hard to get her going and ready, she's short on sleep, etc.
We've tried a few things to help: moving her bedtime a little later (maybe we were putting her down too early now that she's getting a little older?); adding a few minutes of "quiet playtime" in her room before bed to help her settle down; spending the last few minutes in her room having her lay in bed while we rub her back to help her relax before we leave; trying to get in plenty of physical activity during the day; etc. Other than these changes, we've always had a bedtime routine (story, prayer, song) that seemed to be working. She has sleep sounds in her room (which she has used successfully for a couple of years now). She seems pretty tired at bedtime, but she's a high-energy kid, so sometimes it's hard to tell.
She was not a great sleeper as a baby (okay, it was really bad, actually). But after I became what I called the "sleep nazi," things really seemed to be going as well as could be expected. And, in fact, before these last few weeks, she had been doing really well with her sleep for months, if not years. Any thoughts on what might be going on or just suggestions that help your kids settle down and get to sleep at night?
Sorry for the long post. Thanks so much for any help you can offer!
You could try soft music and see if it helps. The type of music is not as important as the fact that it is played softly. It might help to settle her mind.
I often will give my daughter something to think about when she falls asleep. That way her mind doesn't get to worrying, and we don't get trips out of bed with "I can't sleep." Kind of our go-to is that I whisper to her when I leave "You're going to imagine being a princess in a castle, and all of your princess friends are going to come for tea. You need to think about how you're going to decorate all of the beautiful rooms of your castle, all of the detail about all of the gorgeous dresses everyone's going to wear, and all of the delicious food you're going to eat." I think that it helps her drift off.
Good luck.
Try by creating a soft, relaxed environment for your daughter. I am having the same issues with mine, except she is 4...I bought her over the weekend a CD Player at Wal Mart and borrowed some relaxtion CD's from a friend and play those for her. The 1st night, was last night and she screamed, cried, kicked, etc....for about 2 or 3 hours..Tonight, she was still hard headed about it but, once I got up (only lay down with her for 10 minutes) she wanted the music on...By this time, her CD had stopped playing...Anyways, she fell asleep muchy quicker tonight! Hopefully this will continue on...
I also, have a Scentsy candle warmer that I plan on moving into her room and am going to get a calm and relaxed scent to help her go to sleep....
Good luck!!
My daughter always fell asleep to music. I unfortunately still need tv to fall asleep. Some people like complete quiet and others need something to sooth them to sleep. If the music bothers you then get her earphones so she can listen and soothe herself to sleep without disturbing you. Good luck!!
My daughter is almost 10, Monday through Thursday bedtime is 8:30, I wake her up at 6 am, sometimes if we have been super organized I can let her sleep until 6:30 am, but her bus comes as early as 7:05, so we prefer not to be rushed. Figure out what time your daughter Has to be up by, then go backwards 10 hours and that is the time she should go to sleep. A bedtime routine can start a lot earlier than that though, my daughter eats dinner, has some time to play, has her bath then reads for a half an hour. Your daughter may have a lot of anxiety, I would make time to sit and talk about the day and what to look forward to for the next day...find quiet soothing music to play for her at bedtime. Sometimes trying to switch the schedule around helps a bit, maybe try a later bedtime for a while and if that doesn't work maybe an earlier one with more time to unwind before lights out? Wishing you luck, I have a daughter who has a hard time falling asleep from time to time. I have resorted to a cup of cocoa before bed = )
Has she not taken naps before starting school? The have a nap at school in Kindergarten. If she is not used to taking naps and is actually taking them at school now (falling asleep) this may cause her to not be tired at bed time. You might try playing stories on CD in her room, this may keep her still and quiet long enough to go to sleep at night. You can download and write stories to CD or to a MP3 player at Storynory.com.
You might want to fill a cd with stories or put multiple storys on a mp3. The stories are anywhere from 10 minutes to 1 hour long.
This might help:
http://www.theskinnyscoop.com/search/sleep?utm_campaign=t...
I'm thinking that you should move her bedtime earlier. I'm not sure with her age if she is in kindergarten now, but even my pre-K son who goes half days is exhausted at the end of the day now that school has started. My daughter is in first grade and the more tired she is that day, the harder time she has unwinding and falling asleep. My daughter is a very anxious child, and sometimes when she has trouble sleeping she is worried about something, so you may want to talk to her about her day and see if something is on her mind. Other than that, a nice soothing routine and hope that this is a phase.
i'd make her bedtime earlier. many kids become more tired when they start kindergarten. i heard of kids in kindergarten coming home and crashing at 3pm.
I am assuming since she is 5 that she is in kindergarten. Is she taking her lunch or buying it? Is it possible that she is consuming a lot more sugar or carbs than normal? School lunches are terrible and it doesn't help that kids swap things out to get more sweets. I know my son gets WIRED if he gets too much sugar in the afternoon/evening. Also, if you are packing her lunches, be careful of fruit juices, etc. It's just a thought. My son is 2 and has always been tough to get to sleep so you have my sympathy! Good luck!
