OK mom, I am at my wits end here!! My 7 year old has never been great at falling asleep, and it makes for a misterable morning! I feel for her, as I have insomnia too, and struggle with sleeping, but I know as an adult that tired or not, I have responsibilities. We are very routine....bath, reading, prayers, etc..before bed, and she is normally in bed by 8-8:30. We have tried some medicines, but hate to use that every night. We have tried letting her listen to quiet music, reading a book with a small light, well you name it and we have tried it. What else can I do? This fight in the morning is wearing me out!! We are open to more natural solutions as well, so pretty much, we will try anything short of drugging her every day! Thanks a bunch ~A.~
A.:
I feel your pain!! ; )
Two of my three children don't require a whole lot of sleep either. It makes for long days!!!
I'll be anxiously awaiting advice from the Mom's too!
S.
Maybe your 7 year old is getting anxious about the new sibiling, and it's affecting the already strained sleep routine
We had the same issue until last summer. I started giving my daughter a natural supplement that has been used with kids for 15 years. It works wonderfully for her. She lays down and quickly and quietly dozes off. Message me if you'd like details.
C.
My son's psychologist recommended for us to try Melatonin. It is a suppliment. When the pedi. wouldn't give me any recommendations about dose size (I think for legal reasons because it is classified as a suppliment), I looked into it on the web. From what I have read, it is very safe. They have even tested it in a scientific study on children. It is a chemical that your body naturally produces at sundown.
The peditrician did refer us to a neurologist. You might consider going to one if your child's sleep problems are having a major impact on your family. The neurologist told us to use the melatonin and he gave us dosing information.
My son (who is 3)takes 300mcg. That's in micrograms NOT milligrams. It is a very small dose. To get the maximum dose recommended by the neurologist he would have to take over 10 pills. One pill is working fine, but if we needed to in the future, we would feel comfortable giving him two or even three pills.
I was reluctant to give him a chemical, especially a suppliment. But, on the recommendation of two professionals and after doing my own web research, we decided to try it. It has been very helpful to us. Obviously, you should do your own research and use your own judgement about what is best for your family. And do consider the possibility of professional help.
Some things that I hve learned about melatonin: It is not the solution for everyone. It can make some people groggy the next day. It is important to use synthetic melatonin, not melatonin from an animal source (which can be contaminated). It is best to give only one dose per day. If the first dose is not working, you should not go back and give more. Sometimes less works better than more. It is good to give it at sundown since that is when your body is releasing its own melatonin.
If you have any questions for me, send me a message.
