My 6 Yr Old Is a Night Owl!

Five of my kids have this same problem, and it runs in my family, as well. Bedtime is insane because they sit in there and talk to each other all night. We start the "calm down" routine right after dinner, and it seems to work until they are in their beds. Then, all it takes is one kid being willing to start something and they are all up and at it again.

I wish I had some great advice here, because I could use it myself, but I just want to say I totally understand. One of them is an avid reader, so a book will keep him in bed, but I will walk back there at one or two in the morning and he is still awake reading. I have to remember to take the book away after the other kids fall asleep or he will be up all night.

I did start waking them up early and that seems to help. I hate doing it, though, so I'm not very consistent with it -- I just can't seem to bring myself to wake up sleeping kids! lol

Good luck.

I have three kids in one bedroom. The oldest also needs little sleep and the younger try to follow suit. Bedtime routines mean nothing here. Her brain does not stop from the time she wakes up with the sun.

If he does not go to sleep until midnight, what is he like the next day? If he's not tired at night he *can't* fall asleep. If he's a literal mess the next day I'd try melatonin at bedtime. I give mine 1/4 a 1/2 mg tablet.

Let mek now when you find out..we have a similar problem

Try to avoid medicating him! The dim lights and soft speaking sounds like excellent advice! In addition try an earlier day and start winding down right after dinner. Then picking up toys and reading. Good luck!!

Hi N.! I have done a lot of research on this and own multiple books. What I have learned seems to be true for us and our son. Once we start the bedtime routine, the environment throughout the house is not exciting. We make it boring. We dim the lights and turn down the TV in the living room. We don't talk loud and we are happy but very calm. By the end of the routine, our son is mentally prepared for bed and doesn't have near as much time letting go as when we have company. We notice a BIG difference. I learned this when my son was 4 months old and we have done it ever since. My husband is a night owl. When we went to Thailand for 10 days, and changed the time by 12 hrs, strangely he got up early every morning and was aleep by 9pm simply because he was motivated to change his schedule to fit our activities there. It is all mental.

Hi N.! My oldest DD (6yo) has trouble going to sleep sometimes. For a while, we had a ritual of making her a bedtime "milk drink" - warmed up milk with a teaspoon or two of a General Foods coffee (caffeine-free and sugar-free, of course! LOL), and that really helped. I have also made her some chamomile tea - that is just an herb that aids in relaxing, and you can find it in the tea section of your grocery store with all of the other flavors. We've used that, too, and it just kind of takes the edge off. In addition, we have a CD of soft classical music that we put on after our bedtime routine, so that she has something to listen to as she lies there, and it helps her to drift off.

How early does he get up in the morning? Is he in first grade this year, where he has to be at school at a certain time, or are you home schooling? I'm wondering if getting his day started a little earlier would help him go to bed at night.

Hope this helps. Good luck! :)

Hi N.,

I'd suggest you talk to his doctor about possibly adding Melatonin in a small dose at night. Melatonin is a naturally occuring substance that our body makes and is available in different dosages at WalMart. My son, who is now 16, has been taking it, with great success, for years. He is a special needs child and the Melatonin does not interact adversly with any of the medications he is on and has been deemed completely harmless by both his pediatrician and physichiatrist.

Good luck in finding a good solution.

Merry Christmas!

W. Q