Parents Sleeping "issues"

[nycgymmom]

No matter what time my daughter goes to sleep she wakes up early. I know it isn't good for her but not sure what to do. Any ideas for good black out blinds or other things to help her sleep just a little later.

 

[profmom]

Just curious -- how do you know it's not good for her? I know there are recommended amounts of sleep for every age, but some people are wired differently than others. My son has two teammates who need VERY little sleep and seem to be just fine. If she seems like she needs more sleep, has she tried napping? That works very well for my daughter, who has to get up at 6 at the latest for school.

I think one of the best things we can do for our kids is encourage them not to have a lot of anxieties about sleeping. In our house, we try to talk about it as a normal need like hunger or thirst that should be respected, and we discourage them from getting really wound up over an occasional sleepless night or a night when they go to bed too late or get up too early. We dispensed with enforced bedtimes at pretty young ages. The reward has been that when they reached the teenage years, when they got tired, they would tend to go to bed, even if was only 8 or 9 PM!

 

[suebee]

My kids all have sleeping issues, some more than others. My dh also has sleeping issues, so I know where they got it from! Unfortunately, I now also have sleeping issues, having many years of experience now dealing with children with sleeping issues.

My advice from personal experience: people are just wired a particular way. One of mine also gets up early, no matter what. In fact, the later he goes to bed, the earlier he gets up. And he’s the one who needs sleep the most, because he is extremely short tempered when he hasn’t slept enough. I’ve been told that as they get into the teen years, they tend to sleep in later, but mine has definitely not followed that.

So you may not be able to get your child to sleep in later. If my kid wakes up at 7:15, that is considered to be sleeping in for him. He naturally wakes up around 6-6:30, but sometimes as early as 5. In the summer months, I do think that black out curtains and/or a sleeping mask help prevent waking up with sunrise, but definitely do not get him to sleep in until 8 or 9 if he went to bed late.

My child who wakes up early has learned that he needs to go to bed early to get enough sleep, since he can’t sleep in. As a result, he goes to bed much earlier than most of his friends. He has also discovered that since he can’t sleep in, if he stays up late for any reason, he needs to go to bed extra early the next night to compensate. So he keeps that in mind too, when deciding to stay up late for a special event/occasion.

Otherwise, I would say that a sleeping routine/schedule works best for him. He generally goes to bed and wakes up at the same time every day, including weekends. The occasions that he stays up more than 1 hour past his usual bed time are pretty rare.

 

[nycgymmom]

She wakes up tired then it goes on through out the day. In gym she has trouble concentrating and you can see it in her movements.
I don't make an issue of it or bring it up but I can see it in her.

 

[acam1103]

She wakes up tired then it goes on through out the day. In gym she has trouble concentrating and you can see it in her movements.
I don't make an issue of it or bring it up but I can see it in her.

My 8-year old is this way. No matter what time he goes to bed, he is up by 6am. If he has gone to bed early it's fine but when he is up late we see the effects. Last month he started a new practice schedule and we don't get home until 10pm three nights a week. Still no sleeping in and it is really catching up to him. Unfortunately I don't have a ton of advice because we have blackout curtains (and they work really well) and keep his room at a temperature he likes. It's just his wiring. We did get him to agree to an earlier bedtime the other nights of the week just to help a bit. The good thing is he isn't one to fight bedtime so he does get to sleep much earlier on those nights.

 

[RTT2]

My DD wakes up multiple times a night leaving her tired in the morning. I just ordered children's melatonin and am going to see if that helps her sleep through the night. I've also had her start a sleep journal so that in the morning she writes down what times she woke up so we can look for any patterns.

 

[nycgymmom]

My DD wakes up multiple times a night leaving her tired in the morning. I just ordered children's melatonin and am going to see if that helps her sleep through the night. I've also had her start a sleep journal so that in the morning she writes down what times she woke up so we can look for any patterns.

The journal seems like a good idea thx

 

[Madden3]

In my experience kids who wake early are going to wake early, and the only way to help them get more sleep is to strongly encourage an earlier and fairly regular bedtime- as in lights out, not in bed. I agree with profmom about not wanting kids to become anxious about sleep, and I do not believe in all encompassing bedtime rules like "all kids of 10 must be in bed at 8." But I think a bedtime expectation that takes into account the individual child's normal sleep pattern (that will likely shift as the child ages) is fine.

Here are some suggestions:

Sleep environment: To try lengthening sleep in the am/better sleep overall, I suggest having very dark curtains in the room (we just use navy blue curtains) and using a sound machine or fan for "white noise." If you live in NYC there are probably lots of early morning noises that may be waking your child, so maybe think about how minimize that. Also encourage child to pee RIGHT before laying down to go to sleep. Also think about if your daughter's room may be getting warm or cold in the am.

Media/screens: For better overall sleep and more ease with falling asleep, no screens for a while before bed. In fact the less screen time the better overall.
A friend found out her very tired kid was waking super early to text and go on social media before school. So my friend had to adjust the cell phone use rules. And I do not mean her kid set an alarm, she would wake "naturally" really early because she was so eager to get onto social media. Like a kid wakes up early on Christmas.

Late Practice: If the problem is a late bedtime due to late gym practice end-time, here is how I have approached it:

When needed, I have taken my son out of practice a little early on the really late nights. Everyone hates this solution, however, my kid needed it for a time. My thinking is that an exhausted kid is not going to get as much out of practice as one who is well rested, no matter how much practice time they get. I explained my reasoning to the coach and he got it. And in fact the next year he changed the schedule to avoid such late practice, especially for the younger kids.

A more popular solution: On non-practice nights, my sons have an earlier bedtime. We have done this for years and it generally works. Sleep can be "caught up" on to some degree. While ideally most suggest encouraging a regular sleep pattern, it does not have to be exact, and sometimes ya just gotta do what ya gotta do. Having my boys go to bed about an hour earlier on the nights they can (non-practice nights) has worked well for us.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

If you are looking for patterns look at food too. Caffeine or sugar late In the day? Eating to late? Or perhaps going to bed hungry need to have a snack?

Also have a good wind down routine. Lavender in the room. Low light, no screens/media. Warm bath. Chamomile tea. Soft music, white noise. Me I like the sound of the ocean. My daughter has a playlist of her own to sleep by