5 Year old with sleeping problems

[CaptainCrunch]

teach her how to make fake prada purses, if she's up anyways you might as well profit by selling them on line.

If the problem persists teach her how to break into cars.

[JohnnyO]

Thanks to all the replies I know a lot of parents have similar problems.

[ernie]

Just thought of something...

she could be going through a bit of a growth spurt. Nothing may outwardly hurt but it may be resulting in some restlessness and wake ups.

[ratech]

She might be having nightmares and waking up from the cartoons she watches. It happened to my kid watching Sponge Bob. We stopped letting her watch that and she went back to sleeping through the night.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by JohnnyO

Both, she will call out and also try to sneak into bed which we don't allow. The problem is when she is too loud she may also wake up her younger sister then it becomes a 3 ring circus in the middle of the night. She goes through phase where she will sleep on her own and through the night for months at a time. She has never been a fantastic sleeper.

My daughter is 3.5 and she wakes up in the middle of the night most nights and crawls into bed with us. I know the arguments against allowing that, but in our family it really works and I know it won't go on forever. Your daughter is going through a lot for a little munchkin right now and maybe just crawling in with mom and dad in the middle of the night would give her a lot of comfort. It's not like she'll be doing it when she's 18 or something.

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by Sliver

My daughter is 3.5 and she wakes up in the middle of the night most nights and crawls into bed with us. I know the arguments against allowing that, but in our family it really works and I know it won't go on forever. Your daughter is going through a lot for a little munchkin right now and maybe just crawling in with mom and dad in the middle of the night would give her a lot of comfort. It's not like she'll be doing it when she's 18 or something.

You never know...

[JohnnyO]

Originally Posted by ratech

She might be having nightmares and waking up from the cartoons she watches. It happened to my kid watching Sponge Bob. We stopped letting her watch that and she went back to sleeping through the night.

We thought that too and have been careful as to what she has been watching.

[socktape]

We gave our son an old digital alarm clock when he was 3 and explained to him for few nights at bedtime that it was bedtime and that he was to stay in his room and do his best to sleep until at least "seven zero zero" unless he had to go to the bathroom in which case he could go out to do his deed and then right back to bed. It took a couple of times of "It isn't 7:00 go back to bed" but after 2 or 3 nights worked out.

Might be worth a shot if you have an old clock lying around.

We also tend to have an ongoing issue with our son and bad dreams.... he'll be fine for a couple of months and then for a week straight he'll be up at least once a night crying, not necessarily awake but crying. Most times it will just take a touch from us and he'll lay back down and go to sleep. It's annoying but it goes away after a couple of days.

[JohnnyO]

Originally Posted by Sliver

My daughter is 3.5 and she wakes up in the middle of the night most nights and crawls into bed with us. I know the arguments against allowing that, but in our family it really works and I know it won't go on forever. Your daughter is going through a lot for a little munchkin right now and maybe just crawling in with mom and dad in the middle of the night would give her a lot of comfort. It's not like she'll be doing it when she's 18 or something.

We occasionally allow her to crawl in for a short time then I carry her back to bed. Or we let her come in if we are close to having to wake up anyway. But we don't want to make it a habit.

[habernac]

my 3 year old goes through stretches where it's impossible for us to keep him in his room at bedtime. Always a different excuse (I'm thirsty, I need to pee, my night light is off....). Due to this, he doesn't get to sleep early enough and is grumpy as hell as a result.

[Bagor]

I think it could be just a phase.

Our kids both did it at different stages. They would get up around 4am, cry a bit and crawl into bed beside us.

We let them and after a few months it stopped by themselves.

[Dentoman]

As was mentioned, it is quite possible she has a disturbance in her sleep pattern that wakes her up. It is possible for kids to have sleep apnea, which in an adult results in not allowing you to get into a deep sleep, but in a child, could result in repeated awake periods. Worth talking to your family MD of pediatrician about. They do have a sleep clinic at the Children's Hospital where that could be investigated.
What time does she have to wake up in the morning? A bed time of 8:30 and not falling to sleep until 9 pm may not be giving her enough sleep and she is actually overtired resulting in difficulty sleeping. Maybe consider moving her bedtime up a bit.
I agree with what was said that the activity before bed may actually be getting her overstimulated resulting in restless sleep.
Of course, it could just be a phase, but if it goes on for another month, I would consult your doctor.
FWIW, I agree with not letting her sleep in your bed .... that is a very difficult habit to break ... your sleep will suffer even more if she sleeps with you!!

[JohnnyO]

Originally Posted by Dentoman

As was mentioned, it is quite possible she has a disturbance in her sleep pattern that wakes her up. It is possible for kids to have sleep apnea, which in an adult results in not allowing you to get into a deep sleep, but in a child, could result in repeated awake periods. Worth talking to your family MD of pediatrician about. They do have a sleep clinic at the Children's Hospital where that could be investigated.
What time does she have to wake up in the morning? A bed time of 8:30 and not falling to sleep until 9 pm may not be giving her enough sleep and she is actually overtired resulting in difficulty sleeping. Maybe consider moving her bedtime up a bit.
I agree with what was said that the activity before bed may actually be getting her overstimulated resulting in restless sleep.
Of course, it could just be a phase, but if it goes on for another month, I would consult your doctor.
FWIW, I agree with not letting her sleep in your bed .... that is a very difficult habit to break ... your sleep will suffer even more if she sleeps with you!!

The wife is an RT at the Childrens, she is sure their is no breathing, apnea or asthma problems.

As many have said it is probably a phase but as many can appreciate getting her out of the phase ASAP would be ideal.

[Gozer]

Beat her with a phone book.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by Dentoman

As was mentioned, it is quite possible she has a disturbance in her sleep pattern that wakes her up. It is possible for kids to have sleep apnea, which in an adult results in not allowing you to get into a deep sleep, but in a child, could result in repeated awake periods. Worth talking to your family MD of pediatrician about. They do have a sleep clinic at the Children's Hospital where that could be investigated.
What time does she have to wake up in the morning? A bed time of 8:30 and not falling to sleep until 9 pm may not be giving her enough sleep and she is actually overtired resulting in difficulty sleeping. Maybe consider moving her bedtime up a bit.
I agree with what was said that the activity before bed may actually be getting her overstimulated resulting in restless sleep.
Of course, it could just be a phase, but if it goes on for another month, I would consult your doctor.
FWIW, I agree with not letting her sleep in your bed .... that is a very difficult habit to break ... your sleep will suffer even more if she sleeps with you!!

Sounds like your sleep is suffering plenty already. Letting her crawl into your bed in the night is not all that bad, especially if you've exhausted all other measures. And it is certainly better than prescribing her sedatives as another poster suggested. That was ridiculous.

[Traditional_Ale]

Originally Posted by Sliver

Sounds like your sleep is suffering plenty already. Letting her crawl into your bed in the night is not all that bad, especially if you've exhausted all other measures. And it is certainly better than prescribing her sedatives as another poster suggested. That was ridiculous.

No kidding. Who needs sedatives when you can just make her watch re-runs of Minnesota Wild games.

[Dentoman]

Originally Posted by Sliver

Sounds like your sleep is suffering plenty already. Letting her crawl into your bed in the night is not all that bad, especially if you've exhausted all other measures. And it is certainly better than prescribing her sedatives as another poster suggested. That was ridiculous.

Just speaking from my own experience .... the couple of nights that we have let one of our kids sleep with us, I have basically gotten no sleep.
I agree, prescribing sedatives makes no sense.
The idea about the digital clock is a good one.

[tete]

Something that came to mind for me was white noise. Some people -including myself - don't sleep well without white noise. I usually listen to the radio for the first while after I go to bed which annoys my husband to no end - but my clock/radio/alarm has nature sounds as well, which are much more soothing. I know some parents put a fan into their children's room to work as white noise and it keeps them sleeping. Just a thought.

[Gozer]

Maybe you and your wife are starting to become nervous about her sleep and she is picking up on that.

If she thinks you are expecting a problem then she may be more likely to have one.

[Madman]

No night terrors?