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Try This Tuesday #19: How Do You Get Your Child To Sleep?
When I asked a couple of weeks ago for any issues you would like some input on from other readers of 5MFSN, I got this one from Gail at Challenges and Adventures. She has a question regarding her son who just turned 11.
Hi Trish,
I would love to pose this question to other moms: how do you get your child to sleep? what routine do you use? and with a child who has a sleep disorder, how do you get them to sleep early enough without sabotaging them and having them wake up at 4 in the morning!
Right now my son goes to bed between 10-10:30 and wakes up at 7am. I would love to have him go to bed earlier. He takes meds to get him to sleep and stay asleep, but he often fights sleep.
Thanks, Gail
My son has had his own issues with sleep, and we were very fortunate to see much improvement once we had implemented the GFCF Diet and also started melatonin supplementation (both with the help and advice of his doctor). However, what helped Michael will not necessarily work for another child, so it would be wonderful if we could all share our ideas so that Gail (and the many others who are wishing for more sleep!) will have some things to try.
You can leave your suggestions in the comments on this post, or feel free to post them on your own blog and sign the Mr. Linky with the blog post link – put (sleep) in the title so they are easy to find.
Please join in and share the creative solutions YOU have found to your own challenges, or feel free to post your own challenge for input from others. For more details on how to participate, click here.
Trish can be found writing here at 5MFSN every Friday in addition to hosting Try This Tuesday. You can also find Trish at her blog, Another Piece of the Puzzle.
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Comments on Try This Tuesday #19: How Do You Get Your Child To Sleep? »
Maddy @ 12:24 am
Sleep issues! Don't even get me started. All three of mine are different but we follow a similar routine and there's little room for them to negotiate except on special occasions.
For us the two keys are routine and relaxation. For my daughter who is getting older [nearly 11] that's a bath with dimmed lighting [quite fancy that one myself]
When they're out of routine or something's happened to upset it, we go back to basics, massage / brushing / guided imaging / white noise. I've wanted to experiment with weighted blankets but they're hugely expensive, but we're still coping most of the time.
Best wishes
Cale @ 12:36 am
Hey.
Last semester I had persistent insomnia, and I'd sleep 2 hours a night, right at the crack of dawn.(I survived mostly on pop and pure will power). I'm now on a low dose of an anti-depressant that is helping me to regulate my sleep cycle, though I still often have problems. Some things that help:
1. I get into bed at the same time each night (11pm). If I'm not asleep a half-hour later, I get out of bed, go for a short walk outside the dorm with an MP3 player. I play 15 minutes of intense music to get my stress out, and 15 minutes of soothing music to get my brain ready for sleep. I repeat this 1/2 in bed, 1/2 hour outside process until finally falling asleep. Usually it takes only one trip outside.
2. On nights when I know natural sleep will be impossible, I drink kava tea before bed. It's a legal herbal anti-anxiety, that can put anyone right out, particularly when mixed with an anti-d. However, I would highly recommend asking your GP before trying this as it may dangerously interact with other medicine.
3. I nap. I've been told it is a terrible idea, that it will destroy my sleep cycle, and all those other things doctors tell you, but if I can't sleep at night, I know a 2-hour nap by day will keep me running.
4. I have a nighttime routine. I listen to a set playlist of music, brush my teeth, swallow my meds, say G'night to my roommate, shut the light, lock the door, and climb into bed. Doing this routine tells my mind it's time for bed.
5. if I've had 3 nights in a row where I've had a difficult time sleeping, I switch the side of the bed the pillow is on (head or foot). This way any particular pose doesn't become associated with a lack of sleep in my mind, and I have a chance of being able to successfuly revisit that pose in the future.
I wish you much success in this difficult battle for sleep!
Another Piece of the Puzzle ยป Try This Tuesday: Sleep Needed - Please Help! @ 1:06 am
[...] week on Try This Tuesday, one of our readers asks the question, How Do You Get Your Children To Sleep? Please stop by and offer your ideas for her to try! Share and [...]
elizabeth channel @ 1:34 am
Well, we also do melatonin and have implemented the GF/CF diet. We also had apnea so we had our tonsils removed and all this has helped tremendously. My child is 7, and he enjoys listening to books on tape so we have that set up in his room and he falls asleep listening to those. Then if he wakes up he has permission to turn them on again to help him fall back asleep. He still ends up with us many nights due to nightmares, but these have helped! (Also of course lots of outdoor activity to tire him out!)
rickismom @ 7:29 am
Gail, I think that all of the above suggestions are pretty good… however, I personally do not know if earlier than 10 o'clock is very realistic. 9 hours of sleep is about the ideal for 11 year olds, and it may be very hard to get more than that. But I wish you lots of luck in trying!!
Trish @ 1:36 pm
Thanks for all the suggestions. Hopefully Gail will find something that works for her son!
gail @ 1:51 pm
thanks everyone! yesterday we were on the road for 10 hours so i didn'thave time to read or blog. several of these suggestions sound doable and i'm going to put themon my to try list. esp the diet.
thanks again! gail