My son has always been a good sleeper, I've always felt lucky. He will still take naps on the weekends and goes to bed between 8-830. We wake up at 615-630 during the week and he wakes up around 730 on the weekend. He has been complaining since being in school (starting in full day kindergarten last year) about being tired and wanting to rest while at school. Last year I saw it as dealing with the adjustment of not napping and going to school all day, but it continues to be a problem for him. He's very grumpy when he's tired and he ends up getting in trouble at school. Has anyone else had this experience? I don't know if I should put him down even earlier, but when I've done this in the past he will lay in bed and talk to himself until he falls asleep at his normal time. I considered taking him to the doctor to see about a sleep study, but don't want to seem like I'm being over the top. Any thoughts or ideas out there? TIA!
Thanks for the input, I was moving towards the idea of an earlier bedtime and see how that goes. Letting him wake up on his own unfortunately is not an option, he has to be on the bus by 7 and because of that I've been driving him. He has to be there by 730. I pack his lunch and there is plenty of protein. Although snack varies, but he's home by then.
My sons teacher last year told us that we need to allow them to get 12 hrs . of sleep. While that never happened. My kids are down by 8 (most days) and then up between 6:30 and 7 (alarm goes off at 7) I do perfer them to wake on their own then I know they have gotten enough sleep.
I really don't see anything wrong with his going to bed a little earlier, talking quietly to himself, and falling asleep. In fact, that sounds healthy. It seems like he's soothing himself from a tiring day, and that sounds restful. Just because he's not truly asleep during that time doesn't mean he's not getting valuable rest. As long as there are no electronics or books, just lying in bed and calming down with quiet talk seems worthwhile. I wouldn't worry about that.
And I agree about the snack. He may need a little more protein. What does he eat for breakfast? And lunch at school? It may be that he's more in need of a piece of cheese or yogurt or some peanut butter when those grumpy times pop up.
He should be getting 10-12 hours of sleep a night and he is getting the shorter end of that. If he says he is tired, he is probably tired. I would try getting him to be a little earlier. Can you streamline your mornings at all to let him sleep a little later? My 8 year old goes to bed between 8-8:30 and we wake him at 7:30. He is tired some mornings.
I would go for an earlier bedtime and is it possible for him to sleep any later in the morning? That might help.
Adding this: when my son was having trouble sleeping the Dr. had us get melatonin. It's over the counter. Give it to him about half hour before you want him to sleep. Dr told us it would help to reset his internal clock. We only had to give it to him for about a week. And his body for used to going to bed and falling asleep.
Try closer to 8 pm bedtime and see how he does.
Our son napped till he was 7 yrs old.
It was tough in 1st grade when they didn't nap anymore in school but he napped on weekends.
He's 15 now and still will nap every so often - usually a lot more when he's having a growth spurt.
Sometimes when they are growing rapidly they'll eat/sleep a lot more than usual.
Give it another week with a slightly earlier bedtime, see if that helps. Also, see if they are allowed, or an exemption could be made for your DS to have an afternoon snack. Sometimes kids have a hard time recognizing hungry or thirsty and it registers as crabby or tired.
Best,
F. B.
No, it will just take him a while to learn to stay awake all day. In our kindergarten classes they lay down to "rest" until Christmas break then they start weaning them off napping.
It was hard when the girl started 1st grade because she was too still wanting to take a nap. Their body just takes time.
If he goes to bed earlier are you really prepared for the hour he'll wake up? Kids really do only need so much sleep and when he wakes up he's going to be awake and ready to go.
Keep the same schedule on week-ends as during the week and put him to bed earlier.
Mine are in Jr. High and High school and they still go to bed by 8:30 and are hard to get up at 6. I think school takes a lot out of them. Does he take a shower/bath at night? Mine do at night not in the a.m. and it helps them sleep well. There is a lot of adjusting from summer to school days so just keep tweaking till you hit on a solution.
