5 Year Old Not Wanting to Go to Sleep

Hi. How does it become a problem and what does she do?

I've experienced this with my 3 year old. What me and my husband started to do was we put a TV and a DVD player in her room. This may seem odd seeing she is only 3. But we only let her watch eduacational movies. This is my routine. I usually give my chldren a bath at night and they are in their bed by 8:30pm. I turn on a movie that she or her brother picked out and I put them in their bed and turn on the movie and then that way me and my husband have time to ourselves for at least an hour or two before we actually go to bed. Before I go to bed I check to see if they are sleeping and if they are I turn off the TV and DVD but if not I go in my bed and go to sleep and will eventually wake up to turn it off. This is just something that we chose to do because she likes watching movies and it was easier for us to have time together.

My son went through a similiar situation when he was 5 and going to kindergarten. He didn't want to go to bed and he was awful to get up in the morning. It turned out to be he didn't like his teacher so he didn't like school... he didn't want to get up in the morning and go so he didn't want to go to bed. You might want to talk to her about headstart, how everything is going, if she has any problems. When my son started 1st grade it all completely changed!

My 8 year old has been a like your daughter since she was about three years old. My husband is the same way so I really believe it is her internal body clock. In order to avoid an unnecessary struggle every night, she is allowed to read or listen to books on tape for one hour. She has a timer on her shelf and knows that she is responsible for setting it. When the timer goes off, she turns off the light and must rest until she falls asleep. We started this when she was three and used the books on tape because she wasn't reading yet. When she was younger, we had the rule that if she got out of bed for anything other than to use the bathroom or was sick, the next night she lost her hour and had to go right to bed. Now that she is older, she doesn't need the rule any more.

Do you give your daughter any time after her bath to play and read to wind down before going to bed? My kids tend to need that time before they go to bed. I try to let them play in their rooms for about a half hour before reading to them.

I hope some of this helps.
Barbara

Hi-
I have a 2 1/2 year old with the same problem! Although, my daughter's usually asleep by 9:30- but she's in bed by 7:30. Sometimes when we get home from school, I put on music and we dance and dance and dance and dance. On these nights, she falls asleep much easier. I think the key is just wearing her out! On days that we go to the park after school, she seems to sleep better too. She also goes down easier when our nightime routine is quieter and calmer. On nights when I'm wound up (because I've got a million things to do and just NEED her to go to sleep), she doesn't fall asleep quite so well. If we have the chance to really snuggle up after the bath and read lots of stories- the quiet kind- she calms down better. Good luck! Hopefully, this is a phase and will pass soon!

Okay this one is a difficult subject reason. I have the same problem with my daughter who is 6 yrs old... what you can do to narrow things down that i found to work... At 5:30om. cut the food intake that by 6 pm only give Milk and water for drink time... Then do your normal stuff you do at night before bed time.

i find it that every now and again it will be okay to give some food after 6 pm.. mainly stick to Popcorn, Carrots or stuff like yougart... If you stop the sweets this will eventually work out of her system that come bedtime she won't have a sugar high...

i have the same problem only thing different is our 6 yr old if she eats before bed she rises from sleep about a hafe hour after bed...

The caffien keeps children up and going like the energizer bunny. Cutting it out after 6 may help. But reminder it will take time give it at leased 2 wks...

Let me know how your doing with this and i hope my method works for you as well...

I used to read to my daughter when she was little and now she reads to me sometimes before bed. She enjoys reading and is now 13 years old. Reading before bed makes you sleepy, but it also gives some bonding time with your daughter.

When your daughter comes home let her wear herself out, no sweets whatsoever. Give your daughter her bath arounf 6:30 or 7:00 and a warm glass of milk. Lay next to her until she falls asleep, once she gets use to this rountine and see that you are serious she will adapt to it, believe me, I have a 4 year old daughter and it works. She is usually asleep between 8:00 and 8:30. Good luck. Let me know how it turns out.

I start at 7:00 most nights with my daughter. She takes a bath before bed. If she gives me trouble, I ask her if she wants to go to school stinky. Of course , with the other kids, she doesn't want that, so she gets right in the tub! She can have a snack after her bath. I then read her a "chapter" book. It's usually one of the story books that has different five minute stores. Then, she gets one show. If she gives me trouble I tell her no show tomorrow night. I tuck her in and make a big deal out of everything and our routine. She's pretty good about it, but yes, we do have our occassional nights which are a little more difficult. My rule is never past nine because she won't do well in school. I let her know that, too.