My 6 Year Old Is Having a Hard Time Falling Back to Sleep

Try putting her to bed at her normal time. Then when you are going to bed, get her up out of bed and to the bathroom. Do not wake her up all the way, just enough to get her walking with you to the bathroom. Put her on the toilet and tell her to pee. Then take her back to her room and tuck her back in.

My mom had to do this with my sister because she wouldn't wake up at night and would then wet the bed. I don't know if it will work for you but it is definitely worth a try.

Good luck and hope this helps.

9pm is too late for a 6 year old to go to bed (somtimes I go to bed earlier than that, and I'm 33). She is probably overtired/overstimulated. When kids are no longer napping, they need to sleep longer at night. Try putting her to bed earlier (7 or 8), and she will probably sleep longer. Good luck.
J. W

Hi A.,
If she is a really high energy kid all day, maybe she can go to bed earlier? She may sleep better and longer. Just a thought. Also, what about a "quiet time" hour in her room after school or in the afternoon so she can refresh & recharge? My 5 year old son does that.

I am assuming that because she is getting up so early that she is tired during school and that is causing problems?
Or is the problem that you need her to be sleeping longer so you can get things done?

Some kids just don't need as much sleep as other kids do. If her sleeping habits aren't causing behavioural or physical problems, maybe she is one of those kids, and you just have to get used to it.

If it causing problems like irritability or lack of concentration, then there are some things you can try.

Limit sweet or starchy or large snacks before bedtime. No exciting movies or physical activities just before bed. Try to keep to a schedule.

You didn't mention naps. Does she take them? If so, cut back. If not, you might try having her take a short nap during the day, and putting her to bed an hour or so later than her usual bedtime.

If having to go to the bathroom is waking her up, don't let her drink anything before bedtime. You might try waking her up after a few hours in bed and having her go. Maybe she will fall back to sleep and not wake up again. But she might not go back to sleep again for a while, so it might not help.

Doe she wake up early all year long, or just when it starts getting light earlier? My kids wake up earlier during the summer because the light wakes them up. They sleep later during the winter. You can intall room darkening blinds.

Once she starts being in school all day, she might be more tired and sleep longer anyway. If she is crabby when she gets home have her take some quiet time for a short while.

Hope this helps.

I'm 24 years-old and I still remember having similar troubles with sleep. There are a lot of factors you can consider:

1. Is there anything that might be overstimulating her mind during the day. Something like limiting her TV time might make a HUGE difference because those fast moving images can make it hard for little minds to rest.

2. You said she's like the energizer bunny -- does that apply to her level of activity during the day? If so, you probably want to establish a before bed routine that includes some amount of exercise first and then slow down to rest time. Since she is waking up in the middle of the night, if you can teach her to "re-enact" the slow-down time (maybe looking at a few books) this might help her mind remember the before bed routine.

3. If she's fine during the day -- meaning she seems like a normal first grader -- I wouldn't worry about it. Sure, most little ones need more sleep, but there's always the exception to the rule. So long as she has quiet rest time and doesn't disturb the rest of you, I woulnd't loose any more sleep over it.

P.S. Even with natural remedies, you want to clear them with your doctor first!! Chamomile tea is a natural relaxer, and also helps with a dozen other physiological things.

My son had a similar problem. One thing that really worked for him was going to the chiropractor. Any time my kids wake up now during the night I know it is time for an adjustment. They do not use hands with kids and my kids like how they feel when they are done. I also noticed that my son twists and turns when he sleeps, when I take him for an adjustments he sleeps peacefully.

Also the other thing was my son was hyper and moody during the day, we later found he was allergic to food dye ecspecially red # 40. Once we removed that from his diet it straightened out the extreme behavior changes. Hope this helps.

J.

My best suggestion is structuring your routine..you may have one but you didn't mention it. My 5 year old goes to bed at 7:30--sometimes not tired but it has helped our sleep routine. When we're at Grandmas and her cousins (same age) are there and they don't go to bed as early, she'll stay up a bit but then she'll actually say she wants to go to bed. Our routine includes: pjs, teeth, wash up, read story, prayer and bedtime. I am a terrible mother that allows watching DVD to fall asleep--I know all the reasons not to but I do myself so I believe in practice what you preach. After a couple years she now turns the DVD player off herself and doesn't turn it back on until the next bedtime. It took a long time but we've made so much progress. It's tough with school activities to keep 7:30 but we do our darndest including eating dinner without Daddy on some nights. Good luck. T.
Mom to 5 year old and 2 year old
www.HOmemadegourmet.com/tuesday815101
To beneft Diamond Blackfan Anemia which my son has

I feel for you! The only natural remedies for this are diet and exercise which I'm sure you've heard a million times. Any sugar at all can keep some kids wired through the night as well as day. If she doesn't get enough physical activity (a lot) all day, she will be wired at night. If you are already certain that she does not eat or drink sugar, even too much fruit juice, and you are certain she gets tons of daily exercise, and she just naturally doesn't sleep much at night, she needs to go to bed later. This may pass and her sleep needs may increase. If you "try" to keep her up until midnight, she may conk out sooner and deeper. Good luck!
ps-Any chemicals and food dyes etc in food disturb the body and can make kids hyper as well.