10 Yr Old Trouble Sleeping

When my daughter was about that age she started having trouble sleeping. She too would just start crying with one reason or another like your daughter. It seemed that she was starting to show signs of puberty just like it stated in her American Girl book about her emotions and body changes.

About 3 nights of this I decided to take a different approach. Instead of cuddling with her to fall asleep, I sat with her in her room and asked her if she could make a list for me of everything that has been stressing her out lately. I said nothing you put on it is wrong. It could be as big as a girl bullying her at school, your afraid of failing math or you wish you had a new shirt.

The next morning she gave me her list. They ranged from afraid to fail math to wanting a new pair or shoes. We talked about each one and seriously, she felt better. I think part of it was that she had so many things going on she couldn't pin point it. Talking about it helped and having me listen made her happy. I also suggested she re-read her American Girl Book.

Hope that helps!

Talk to her - as often as required. Hopefully you're not pushing her too hard at school. Reassure her that its ok to not get A & B's in school - not all the brightest minds attended school.

Check if some recent experience is causing her to think this way and once again - reassure her!

To address the sleeping issue medically, I recommend Melatonin. It is safe and can be given without fear of side effects or risk of addiction.

As for the reason for the sleep issues, I would recommend you have a mother-daughter day out, and then over a special meal out somewhere maybe you can help her open up to you in order to discover what it is that is bothering her.

It may very well be that she herself does not fully know what it is that is troubling her, but with her finding comfort in sounding off on you, perhaps the two of you can discover what it is and you can help her find the solution to her problem.

It may be that she will require someone who specializes in helping children solve their issues. Perhaps you can direct her to the school psychologist? This is a great place to start, especially if this person is a trusted person with your child. If not, perhaps someone in your church? A youth pastor?

It is apparent that your daughter is having some real fears concerning something. She is very blessed to have caring parents such as yourself and your husband who truly are on their game and not willing to sweep things under the rug. I am confident she is going to be just fine.

This sounds all too familiar to me, unfortunately. My daughter experienced the same problem last year, when she was seven.
We found the problem to be anxiety issues and found a wonderful therapist who taught her some pre-bedtime relaxation and other coping tools. A few months of counseling did the trick for us, with the agreement that we can return for a "tune up" as needed.
Best of luck to you...I know this is so difficult to deal with...but it can get better~

Some girls around this age just can't be perfect enough. My daughter was one of them. She's now 20 and is a little more chilled out. My daughter used to have severe nose bleeds and lots of stomach trouble. She just needed constant reassurance for a while. Her teachers always told me how wonderful and caring she was. Eventually, she grew out of it. I always tried to keep her laughing and I would do mother/daughter things.

My son always wanted to go around to all the doors and windows to make sure it was all secure. Maybe you could take your daughter to Home Depot and go to the home security aisle and see what would help make her secure.

I think her hormones are starting to flow also. It will take her a while to figure things out. Just be patient, she feels like she has lost some of her control and maybe you can talk to her and find out what it is.

Oh , Dear, the littles ones get frightened and it's hard to shake. Focus on the houses safety-outside lights, double locks on the doors, baseball bat by dad's side of the bed. I take it you don't have a dog? Stickers on the window can be a deterrent-and may give her a sense of safety. Leave lights on-criminals hate them-it increases their chances of being seen and caught. You may need to seek professional advice and counseling-better to nip it in the bud now-than wait until it becomes crippling. It takes time and patience and a lot of reassurance. All A's and B'-you must be proud! She must know, however, that 1) she isn't going to fail 5th grade and 2) you would love her anyway! and 3) she is young enough to make up for it even if she did which, you are going to see that that doesn't happen. Plan a conference with her teachers so that they can boost her morale and assay her fears. You can install alarms on all your doors and windows-they may not be connected to an alarm company-but they make noise and tell you if a door or window has been opened. Good luck-try to read a sweet story at bedtime-maybe that will help, too-sweet dreams!

Funny-my nine year old has recently been very afraid of break ins as well. I would keep telling him that we have a security system so the bad guys would see our sign and go to another house and that there probably wouldn't be any bad guys anyhow because we live in such a safe area. I think it finally worked because he stopped talking about it. He is usually such a rational and mature kid so it was really surprising that this started to come up.