I am the proud parent of a tween. She is full of life - irrepressible, energetic and vivacious. More is more for this kid, whether it's bling on her clothes, the volume of her stereo, or the number of lollies she thinks she can sneak when I'm not looking.
There's a slight downside to this hurricane of amazingness that is my daughter. And that is that she can't get to sleep easily. Every night, like the plot of a bad sitcom, we go through the same routine. I set the deadline, we have hugs, kisses, prayers, ''çhat'', ''girl time'', quiet reading time, you name it, and it takes her at least an hour, and usually more to settle.
No amount of begging, pleading, cajoling or threatening makes the slightest bit of difference. From time to time she will despair that she is unable to go to sleep, claiming that she wants to but her eyes/brain/body won't let her. And, it must be said, by 9.30 or more at night, my patience begins to wear extremely thin, especially night after night after night.
Her diet, routine, evening activity and so on, do not seem to have an effect either way on her ability to relax. Once asleep she usually is out to it for around 10 or 11 hours, so I know that she is not a child who simply needs less sleep than most.
And so, today, a plea for help. Has anyone else had this challenge? You will know if you've been a reader of this blog for a while that sleeplessness runs in the family, so that is an added hurdle, but i could really use some fresh ideas here.
Your thoughts?
listen to the book...
2 comments:
My only idea (as it seems you've tried them all!), is Melatonin drops. I use them when we are jet-lagged, or when stress is keeping me awake (or when the kids are going through times like this), and it works a treat. Safe, over the counter stuff...Let me know if you need me to send you some!
How old is your teen? At some point in the teenage years the internal clock resets. Their brain tells them it should stay awake until 11pm, but their body tells them they still need 10-11 hours of sleep. They're in that in-between stage.
That's why some high schools have a later start time - they recognise this phenomenon means high schoolers will function better with their full 11 hours sleep.
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