Seven year old Daughter who can't get to sleep

My 7 year old DD has a terrible time getting to sleep every night. We have struggled with this for a few years and I just can't take much more.

We have the same routine every night, we have no screens once she is home from school and she can get to sleep if she just stops fighting it. Maybe one night a week if you can get Her to lay stil for a few minutes she can fall straight asleep. Other nights she just won't stop moving/talking and then doesn't get to sleep.

She has been not allowed treats/toys/outings the works I have taken everything off her and it doesn't seem to bother her.

I would love some tips on helping her rest her mind I think the problem is before bed.and we have tried mediation/relaxation eye and they have worked. Everything has been tried for weeks on end to try and make it part of the routine but it has always failed.
Any options at this stage I am willing to try. One thing I have thought of is her diet and although she eats fairly healthy maybe food is making her more irritable?

I have no idea any more, hence why I am asking this awesome bunch of ladies for ideas.

Thanks

I think there might be an autocorrect error in your post. Did you mean the relaxation/meditation has worked? I assume you meant it hasn't?

How did you do the meditations? Talk us through them.

It sounds like you need something to distract her kind from her own thoughts to give her time to settle.

At her age you might also be able to try a reward chart which focuses on lying down quietly in bed (rather than going to sleep - which could increase her stress as he tries too hard to get to sleep) at firsy you could have a reward or sorts at the end of the week - Which might be watching tv for half an hour after school or something if that's a special treat :)

I am so sorry you are going through this. I know exactly how you feel.

My daughter (now 6 1/2) stopped sleeping during the day at 9 weeks. She never slept for more than 40 minutes during the night. She started sleeping through the night last year just before she turned 6. :(

I, like you, had tried all sorts of meditation, diet, rewards, punishment, etc etc. she would wake up to 6 times a night , not crying, no nightmares, just waking. I was at the end of my tether. I did not enjoy being her parent. We even got prescribed a sedative but guess what, that didn't work either!!!

What HAS worked for her is: changing her diet completely - we now follow the Failsafe diet. She also takes Melatonin in the evening 30 minutes before bed and this helps her relax enough to get off to sleep, and she generally doesn't wake now through the night.

Melatonin is not a sedative. It is a naturally occurring chemical in the brain, and helps to regulate our sleep patterns. Some people just don't have enough. I don't know for sure that DD is lacking in melatonin, but I do know that it works.

It gets prescribed to children with Autism and Aspergers sometimes, and my daughter has SPD (sensory processing disorder) so I figured what the heck!

I am sorry for all the info about MY daughter when this is about yours, but I do hope this helps.

I am happy to try and help you out as much as I can as I know what years of sleep deprivation can do to a person.

Good luck with everything.

XX

Has she been tested for ADD?

My daughter - now almost 13 - is exactly the same. Melatonin was prescribed but didn't work very well. We have also tried Catapres, which we've had more success with.

I think you should not frame it in terms of reward/punishments. It is very unlikely she can control it. I really suggest getting her tested.

Good luck!

Here's what I would try:
* remove every CFL/fluoro lightbulb in the house (especially the cool white ones) and replace them with warm-white globes, preferably LED.
* warm shower/bath about 45 min before bed - when the body starts cooling down sleep is more likely
* no milo/chocolate drinks in the afternoon or evening (too stimulating). Same goes for chocolate flavoured desserts
* If she has a light in her room (eg, nightlight) get one with a red bulb - as that's the colour that least stimulating
* Spend some time in the bedroom with her. In our house that meant moving the bedtime story reading into her room, instead of on the lounge.
* Sometimes the restlessness is actually a sign the child is overtired. Maybe send her to bed a bit earlier and see what happens?

If you've tried all that and are still getting no progress, you might need to see a dr.

Fwiw, guided meditation practices keep my brain active. A spoken book can calm, but not send me to sleep. Classical music wakes me up. Even the gentle stuff. Drowsy medications have no drowsy effect on me, nor on my DS. Caffeine had a sedative effect when I was drinking it too heavily, but caffeine addiction isn't a good idea. Alcohol does not send me to sleep.

TV sends me to sleep. Very easily. Same for my sister, who also had problems going to sleep. The brain just shuts off as it isn't required. I have no qualms in using it when needed. I know screens are demonised, and I have low screen time rules when necessary, but ask yourself what the problems with screen time are before you get rid of them entirely.