8 & 9-year-old who won't sleep alone
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8 & 9-year-old who won't sleep alone
April 2006
I need some advice about getting our eight-year-old daughter to
sleep at night. She can't fall asleep unless one of us is in the
bed next to her. She usually falls asleep fairly quickly, but
when she doesn't, it creates havoc between me and my husband (we
argue about who will put her to bed- last night he said he would
do it but then inturrupted my down time because she could not
fall asleep). He often puts her to bed and then falls asleep
himself, then wakes up, goes into our bedroom and has insomnia.
I hate putting her to bed because I really need time alone to
unwind. If I can read it is fine, but some nights she can't
sleep unless the room is dark and then I am just sitting there
doing nothing and feeling resentful that I can't do my own thing.
One the one hand, I know she is old enought to start falling
alsleep on her own. On the other hand, I can appreciate her need
to feel close and secure with a loved one at night. Also, she is
pretty uptight about this issue. She has not had a successful
sleepover yet and freaks out if a babysitter has to put her to
bed. She says she is not ready to sleep on her own. So, any
thoughts?
tired
Oh, memories! Both my son and daughter (now 19 and 15) were the same
way! If it helps any, they did outgrow needing one of us to fall asleep
(both around age 10).
What was really difficult was when they both wanted someone, were in
separate rooms, and there was only one parent home! It seems funny now.
Seriously, it won't last forever. One thing that worked, occasionally,
was to reason with them.
Sometimes I would say ''I really have alot to do and can't lie down
right now. I promise I will come back in 5 minutes to check on you.''
And DO IT. No more than 5 minutes come back and say ''How are you
doing?'' and touch her head or kiss her forehead, and say ''I'll be back
in another 5 minutes.'' If she is in the mood to cooperate she will
stay awake to make sure you are coming back a few times and eventually
fall asleep. It didn't always work, but as I said, it doesn't last
forever.
Sleepy Mom
I'm having a similar problem and I can empathize. My son won't sleep in
his own room. He has to fall asleep in my room and then my husband has
to move him once he is asleep. This is a step up from when I used to
have to sleep in there with him for him to fall asleep. So the next step
we started last night. He has to sleep in his own bed but he can read
for a while and once he does this for 5 nights, my husband will take him
out to buy a toy. So we are bribing him - for now. Hopefully he gets
used to it. Last night he cried and cried and it was hard for me but I
just let him know he would be okay and that he just needed to find a way
to be cozy. I told him stories of how I got cozy in bed when I was a
little girl and I gave him stuffed animals to cuddle which he loves.
Another Softy
I'm so glad to know that someone else has this situation!
Unfortunately, I have no advice for you. I lie down with my 7 year old
daughter until she falls into a deep sleep. I read or listen to a
walkman to pass the time, but many nights fall into a deep sleep myself
for an hour and then get up. Since she can take a long time to fall
asleep this cuts into time with my husband and time for my own
activities. She really needs a family bed, but it's not something that
my husband was willing to do after the first year so I return to her as
needed during the night. I know this sounds crazy to most people and I
do tire of the routine, but she seems to need it so much.
Everything has gotten easier in time and I trust that bedtime and night
wakings
(nightmares) will too. I hope you and she find something that works for
both of you. It's not easy.
Anon
Wow. I really thought that we were the only ones with an eight year old
that did this.
Our son went through the exact same thing. And this was after several
years of going to bed just fine by himself. I think that he developed a
fear of the dark but wasn't able to express it for a long time. Anyway,
we would just lay with him and read (try a book light or head lamp)
until he fell asleep. But, as you mention, this can get really hard on
the adults. So now we lay down and read together until ''lights out
time'' (whatever you decide that time to be) and then we leave. But he
still needs a nightlight in his room and the hallway light on until he
falls asleep.
You could also try what we did when he was much younger to help him go
to sleep alone-every two or three nights sit a little farther away from
the bed at bedtime until you're sitting at the door and then finally in
the hallway outside the room (boy, did that feel silly!) This may help
her gain confidence in her ability to deal with being alone at bedtime.
Been there (still doing that, occasionally)
Calmly explain to your daughter that she needs to fall asleep on her own
now. Take her to the store and let her pick out a big stuffed animal
that she can cuddle.
At bedtime tell her that she needs to fall asleep on her own, again, and
the stuffed animal will keep her company. Keep reminding her, and keep
her in her room. Don't fall for repeated trips to the bathroom or
glasses of water. Leave the door open a crack if she needs it.
Be persistent. Don't let her take naps during the day by keeping her
busy. By day three she should be so tired that she falls asleep on her
own.
Think about other boudaries that you might not have set with her.
She needs to gradually be able to do more things on her own if she's
going to eventually be independent and you need to have an adult
relationship with your husband. Your strong relationship with him sets
the tone for her relationships with boys and men in the future. And one
of those issues is boundaries.
What about some time for Mom?
Hi, we just went throught the same thing with our daughter,who is a few
years younger, but the situation was very similar. I started doing my
errands in her room at the end of the night. She would watch me and
then fall asleep. I folded socks, read my email, signed my checks,
recycled catalogues, graded homework, etc. First, it took about an hour
of whining and pleading to cuddle, or for a story, but then she finally
dozed off from boredom, but with a touch of security. Now, she knows I
unwind downstairs or in my room and there is no seperation anxiety. She
just visualizes me doing something boring and that puts her to sleep
alone. She is not missing out on anything fun, but she knows I am
active in the house thinking about her. Does that make sense? It was a
natural transition. Luck!
Been There
In the long term, it sounds like you need to clarify whether you think
she should fall asleep on her own or not, and if you think she should
(because it sounds like it's imposing very negatively on your family
peace and marriage), then you should start talking to her about how
she'll need to start falling asleep on her own, and give her lots of
praise for progress in that direction. She's definitely old enough for
it but apparently not used to it at all. Maybe you can even give her
some music that will turn off on its own, or a low-wattage lamp that
will turn off.
In the shorter term, I'd suggest a headlamp flashlight and a good book.
It sounds like you don't really mind it if you can read a book. With a
decent headlamp (check REI-Petzl makes some good ones), you can still
read, but the rest of the room is dark. Use that as a start to let her
learn how to fall asleep.
If that's not good enough for your daughter, then frankly, I think you
need to tell her it's too bad, and you need to set firmer boundaries for
your own sanity. Trust me, she'll survive.
Our son was the same way. Even now, at 12, he still goes through
periods when he wants company, or at least the feeling that he is not
alone. One difference from your daughter is that he will only fall
asleep with the light on, so it is possible to read, fold laundry,
whatever!
A few ideas helped us help him, depending on your specific goals:
Use a small book light while you read in her room.
Sit just outside of her room where you can read but still be nearby.
Let her know you'll be very close by, and will check on her, and do so
often - either come in often, or at least call to her to let her know
you are around and aware. This helped our son transition. Works best if
her room is near the ''active'' part of the house.
Play a soothing CD of nature sounds or gentle music EVERY NIGHT.
Start with both the CD and your presence, then fade out your presence.
Let her know you will sit with her for 5 minutes (or whatever your limit
is), but then need to _____ (fill in the blank...).
Again, check back periodically.
Never lie down on the bed if you don't want to fall asleep! Best is a
separate chair, but sitting at the foot of the bed will do.
R.K.
I just recently married a man who has a wonderful son who became
accustomed to sleeping with his Dad after his divorce three or four
years ago. My husband understands his mistake and we have been working
with his son for the last several months to break the habit. We're
very aware of the fact that I have displaced him and while he loves me
he still wants his Dad. He told us that after his ninth birthday (a
month ago) he would be ready to put himself to bed. (His dad has been
snuggling with him until he falls asleep.) Now, of course, he has
decided he is afraid of the dark. We've used a chart with rewards,
we've turned a deaf ear to his crying, we've talked to him, bargained
with him. We've tried to find books that deal with problem but all of
them refer to small children. Any suggestions? We'd be grateful.
My younger son had trouble going to sleep until he was 11 or 12.
He was OK when he shared a room with his brother, but when he was
8 and got his own room, he stopped being able to go to sleep. He was
just plain scared. He told me that when he lay down he would start
visualizing scary things he had seen in movies or just out of
his imagination, and he couldn't prevent the scary images from coming
into his head. So I would read to him, and then just sit on the foot
of his bed till he fell asleep. This got really tiresome and I didn't
do it consistently. But if I sat there reading my own book, he'd
fall asleep in 5 minutes. If instead I tried other tactics like
leaving, or setting a time limit on how long I'd stay, it would drag
on forever. He eventually outgrew it. Some things to try that helped
my son: tell him if he gets scared, he can call for his dad and he
will come in there right away no matter what (and then make sure he
does). It's good to give him some way to calm himself down if he
gets scared. Give him a comic book or something funny to keep by his
bed, and make sure he has a reading light, and tell him if he wakes
up or he can't sleep, he can read for a little while. We used Calvin
and Hobbes, and that helped a lot. Or tell him he can go in and watch
TV. or anything else he can do by himself that is calming and
relaxing. Get a snack, play on the computer. If he wants to keep
the lights on all night in his room, let him. I would let the
bedtime be flexible for a while until he figures out how to get himself
to sleep by himself. In fact, I had always held the kids to a
regular bedtime, until they got to be 12 or so. Maybe it's a
coincidence but my son seemed to find his own way into a more
regular sleep pattern once he was in charge of how and when he went
to sleep. He now goes to bed on his own by about 10pm, (he's 15),
and seems to sleep well and not have any problems, and that has been
the case for the past few years. So, just hang in there, it will
get better!
I also have a nine year old boy who was afraid of the dark and
needed to learn how to sleep alone and the advice I got from a
child therapist was really helpful to me. Alot has to do with
ones own ambivalence. If children sense that, they will have a
hard time. My son and I agreed on a time to start. I got him a
radio alarm clock which he could listen to before sleeping and
a night light so the room wasn't completely dark. Let him pick out
what he wanted to sleep with (blanket? stuffed animal?) and reading
material if he needed it. We talked about things he could do for
himself if he got scared. I agreed I would look in on him (just
look, not stay and interact) every 10 minutes. Then we did a couple
of rehearsals where we did our story, which is our pre-bed ritual
in his own bed. He fell asleep there both times we did this. So when
the night came, It was no problem and I expected and have had alot
of misery and crying on previous occasions. Remember ones own
resolve is key.
All of my children went through phases at many ages of not wanting to
sleep in the dark and/or not wanting to sleep alone. By 9 they were
all falling asleep in their own beds, but not necessarily with the
light out. We worked towards gradually phasing in darkness. Believe
it or not, they each had times when they would fall asleep with all
lights burning. We would work them down to just a lamp, and
eventually they would on their own turn all lights off when they went
to sleep. ANother thing they have done at times is to drag a sleeping
bag or blanket into our room and sleep on the floor of our room. They
didn't fall asleep this way, but would creep in quietly in the middle
of the night. Doesn't allow for much privacy, but they did all
outgrow it. (Well, our nine year old still does it sometimes, but the
13 and 16 year old never do!) The "slumber parties" were most likely
to occur at stressful times. When the youngest was born, for example,
my 6 year old would wake up in the middle of the night, go and get his
younger sister, and they would both creep into our room and settle
down on the floor for the rest of the night. My 9 year old returned
to our floor this week after his grandpa got sick, but I'm confident
that even he, who has slept through the night for maybe a total of 100
days in his entire life, will eventually completely give up this
practice. So, a compromise for your 9 year old might be to fall
asleep in his bed, lights on or off as he chooses (and maybe listening
to a tape, or with 10 minutes of dad's time to start off), maybe with
the added understanding that he could camp out on your floor if he
wakes up in the middle of the night, after you are asleep. This might
take away the sense that this is a conflict between the new mom and
him, and make it just one more transition to adjust to. Good luck.
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