help with sleeping at night

[JCrakers]

hi,

Mum arrived this morning and said that the children will be tired as her 7yr old was up until 11pm not being able to get to sleep.
She put him to bed at normal time but he kept coming down telling her he couldnt sleep. In the end he was screaming and throwing stuff and woke her other two children.
He's always been a bad sleeper and quite often they all swap beds in the night just to get some peace.

I really struggled to give her advice as both my two children slept through since 8weeks old. I have always been very strict at night but I know some parents dont believe in this but I certainly wouldnt put up with this from my own children.
Quite often when she arrives she looks like she has done a days work already.
Does anybody have any ideas how I could advise her? At the moment he is in with his younger brother who is very hyperactive (but he manages to get to sleep no probs) He did have his own room but was having night terrors so they moved them together to help him.
Last night he was moved into the spare room but wet the bed on purpose. It sounds like a complete nightmare and want to help. Do I need to tell her to get tough or is there another soution? Mum is very soft with them and dad is a lot stricter.

x

[clio0602]

Ds who is 10 has always been a bad sleeper. Slept with me til he was 3 then had to do the supernanny approach and gradually move further away each nt until at 4 he would go to sleep by himself. Saying that he always woke in nt and was up at half5 ish.

He still has the very strict routine of bath, read, lights out although sometimes it takes him hours to get to sleep especially if worried or excited about something. His bedtime is 8pm which is prob early for 10yrs but any later and he's too tired.

I think the routine and being firm along with finding out if there's any worries stopping Lo from sleeping may help. Maybe making spare room his new room and letting him choose colour scheme new bedding etc? Hth Sorry for the ramble lol X

[alwaysright]

my daughter is also a bad sleeper, shes 9 but has epilepsy and parasomnia, she has never spent a full night in her own bed and hates to be alone, even when in her own bed she has to have the lights on, maybe the child doesnt like to be alone in his room, have i misread the post or did you say he slept ok when in with his brother?? what about bunk beds in the room so he can sleep with his brother??

[Helen79]

My dd is an excellent sleeper and slept through from 3 months, ds is a terrible sleeper and at 3 still wakes several times a night shouting. We've treated them the same at bedtimes so it's not a case of of not being strict enough. ds gets very scared at night and likes to know someone is nearby.

Could you suggest the Relax Kids cd's, amazon sell them. dd and ds share a room so we got one so that bedtimes were quieter and more relaxed. They do pirate and superhero relaxing stories so would be suitable for an older boy. They're kind of meditation stories so really good for calming down before bed.
Would giving him a slightly later bedtime help? If he gets to stay up maybe 30mins later than his brothers he might then be tired enough to go to bed without the tantrums.

ds also has to have a light near his bed. He doesn't have it on at bedtime but likes to know it's there in case he wakes in the night and is scared.