Posted by Dave on January 07, 2008 at 15:47:16:I have a happy healthy 9 year old boy who has great difficulty falling asleep -- always has! He is so full of energy he just cannot slow down. Then, he introduces distractions...hungry, thirsty, scared, has to tell us something, wants to read, etc. Once he falls asleep he's usually down for the night. He sleeps very hard but can also be quite restless...does that make sense?? He flips around the bed, clenches his jaw and tend to smack his lips/tongue as if his mouth is dry. If we allowed it, he would stay up until midnight and sleep till noon (practicing to be a teenager I guess!). So, obviously this makes mornings delightful...difficult to wake and grumpy! I cannot help but think that he's not getting good sleep.
His brother is the polar opposite. He can hardly make it through two pages of a story and sleeps sound.
My 9 y/o is a very high energy kid. He's athletic, smart, well liked and interested in lots of things. I think that part of the issue is relaxing (or not). Any advice or resources to help develop a good routine? We're willing to shut the door and do the tough love thing but I want to help him develop a routine that will serve him in the future.
Any advice, thoughts or referrals are much appreciated.
Dave