Help.My 5 year old is not sleeping enough, Why??

Question

My 5 year old little boy will lay in his bed and play with his hands, take off his socks take off his shirt to play with them for hours when he is supposed to be napping or asleep. Last night we did most of our normal routine but it was 1:30 am and he was not asleep I am tired, emotional, and frustrated is this a faze? I want answers from other moms with 5 year olds or older. Please don't bother answering if you are not a mom because you won't understand what you read in books or magazines and watch on tv is not the same as going through it yourselves so please don't waste time. Thanks

Answer 1

Stop making him take a nap.  He is obviously not tired when he goes to bed and that's probably because he is taking a nap during the day.

Answer 2

Maybe the nap is giving him too much rest. First Try the day with out a nap. If that works great. If that makes him cranky and upset, give him down time, where he just plays by himself quietly. Also before bed read, watch TV, or do some that puts hims in a tired state of mind. Also if you have a radio of music playing alarm clock  put it on sleep for 30 to 60 mins with some soothing music. make sure he is comfortable. And just experiment. Ask him what up. Something may be on his mind that keep him up thinking about it. Ask him what could make him more comfortable. Maybe he is afraid of something. Talk to him.

Answer 3

no more naps ,nice warm bath, Johnson and Johnson makes a great night time bath with lavender to relax him.no sugar and caffeine for at least 2 hrs before bed time, a good calm time with nothing to vigorous being done before lying down,stories, music, just mom and him talking etc.and a consistent bed time.  good luck.

Answer 4

My oldest daughter (8)  has always done this - although she  conks out long before 1 am!   But she has to have that 'quiet play time' before falling asleep sometimes she is in bed not sleeping for an hour or more.  This has gone on since she was a toddler.  Her sister is 4 and she is out like a light when her head hits the pillow.  I guess everyone has different sleeping styles too.

I'd suggest avoiding all daytime sleep.  He is too old to be napping.  Get him involved in a rigorous activities during the day - swimming is excellent, even if he just is playing in shallow water.  Running, hiking, biking - anything to keep him moving.  I actually sometimes challenge my kids to run around the outside of the house 10 times before dinner!  They get all happy when they 'prove' they can do it.  Also don't try to put him to bed too early.  I'd say 8 or 8:30 pm is probably a good time.   Then say good night and leave him.  If he is laying in bed quietly, even if he plays , that's all you can do.  You cannot FORCE him to sleep.  Be sure his room is conducive to sleep being dark or dim, no noisy fans or anything.

Answer 5

Have you tried going a day without having him take a nap or even laying down and taking a nap, maybe he would be tired by bed time then if he just consitantly is moving through the whole day.  

My son does not go to bed easily I have to hold him during nap time to get him to sleep and at night I used to have to hold him while we watched tv and now I have to read 2 books and make him go to sleep, I have tried getting him to go with out a nap but at 7 he will just drop asleep and he will wake up 2 or 3 hours later wanting to be awake, I make him take a nap and I usually get him to bed between 11 and midnight and he wakes up around 8

Answer 6

Sounds like he's been getting too much sleep.  I don't know too many five year olds who still take naps.

If he seems rested during the day, I would stop the naps, have him go to bed at a reasonable hour, and not check him after he has gone to bed, unless he is ill.  Sometimes, light sleepers have trouble sleeping if they are checked too often.

Then - you go to bed at a reasonable hour, even if he is awake.

Hang in there.

Answer 7

im not exactly sure how to get him to sleep but did you know that the people who live longest are the ones getting 6.5-7.5 hours of sleep each night.

good luck

Answer 8

my daughter who is 8 now did that at about 5 or 6.  She would even get out of bed a lot and walk around or play in the dark.  We had to make a rule she was only allowed to get up to go pee or for an emergency.  We took all the toys from around her bed.  And we had to keep going in and telling to to relaz and stop playing.

Skip the nap-he may no longer need it

more excersize during the day will tire him out more

make sure he's eating health too, that has a lot to do with it.  Nothing an hour before bed.

Ask why he isnt sleeping, maybe hes hot, cold, itchy, uncomfortable.

Answer 9

He most likely does not need a nap at all.   My kids stopped napping at 2.   Is he keeping active so he is sleepy at night?