Bed time DRAMA | Imamother

amother

Tue, Mar 18 2014, 8:45 pm

I have a 5 yr old daughter who is just absolutely obnoxious when bed time comes around. The rest of the day she is a lovely child. I don't know what happens to her at night. She will not go to bed. Worse, she makes noises, jumps around and disturbs her sister who shares a bedroom with her and keeps her from going to bed, robbing her of at least an hour of needed sleep every night.
I have tried reward systems for good bedtime behavior. Doesn't help. I have tried taking away toys or privileges from her if she acts up. Doesn't help. I have tried both "exercising" her to the point of exhaustion and waking her up insanely early so that she would be so tired and go to bed nicely for me at a normal time. Didn't work. To be honest, it is taking every ounce of willpower I have not to smack this kid around at night. What is a mother to do in this situation? I am all out of ideas.

PAMOM

Tue, Mar 18 2014, 9:16 pm

These may be too obvious but let me ask: have you tried telling her that she can lie quietly in the bed and not sleep till she's ready? Can she read yet? Would she lie in bed with a small
light and read quietly till she's tired? Can you just let her stay up 1/2 later in condition that she then lie quietly? You know-- you're older now so we wasn't to give you a choice.; would x be a good idea for you?

amother

Tue, Mar 18 2014, 10:15 pm

I would be happy for her to lie quietly in her bed. My 7 yr old son has trouble falling asleep but he will at least stay quiet in his bed. But she is not quiet. She sneaks toys into bed and makes loud noises with them. She will jump on her bed. Jump onto her sisters bed any annoy her or even hurt her.
Like I said, she is not like this during the day at all. I don't know what gets into her and I don't know any way to make it stop.

amother

Tue, Mar 18 2014, 11:17 pm

First of all, switch her temporarily to a different room with nobody else. Even the couch in the living room or a crib mattress in a hallway or large closet. Worst case scenario, a mattress on the floor of your room (you can move her in the middle of the night). During the time she learns how to go to sleep calmly, nobody else needs to suffer.

Second of all, it sounds like she is bored in bed/needs more wind-down time. Try giving her headphones and an educational tape to listen to, or even just calming music. Or get her a quiet activity that can be done in bed - stickers, matching game, or handwriting practice.

You also may need to start the "quiet" part of bedtime earlier. She may not be able to transition well. Try dimming the lights throughout the house starting an hour before bedtime, taking a bath in dimmer light, and reading a story in bed after PJs - whatever works, just try to figure out a peaceful before-bed routine.

Hope something of this works!

FranticFrummie

Wed, Mar 19 2014, 6:19 am

My DD was exactly the same, until our pediatrician told us to give her melatonin every night. The latest studies show that there is very little risk in giving the lowest effective dose, even over a long period of time. You might just need to do it long enough to break the cycle and get her used to falling asleep on time.

DD's body does not produce enough melatonin on her own, so we have been supplementing for 4 years now. It's definitely worth asking the doctor about.