Lack of sleep due to having children

At 8 years old he's old enough to get his own extra blankets without waking you, and a drink of water from the bathroom.. that's all he really needs in the middle of the night. Everything else, just say no and send him back to bed. My kids don't wake me up in the night unless they're sick.. anything else they may need they get it themselves without disturbing anyone else.

Don't give him too much sweets as it makes a child too active. Hehe that's what my father's friends always say.

I am running on lack of sleep right now. My daughter who is 2 coughed all night long and if she wasn't coughing she was crying so I didn't get much sleep. Cough meds don't work. I want to try this thing called sinucleanse kids mist to see if that will help us tonight. I need some sleep. I am having trouble holding my eyes open now.

me and my wife also lack sleeps almost every night. our 3 year old son has sleep apnea and he snores too loud. not just because he snores loud that we lack sleep but we have to continue to monitor him while he is asleep.

I couldn't imagine having to deal with those kind of issues at this point in my life. My children are now seven and three years old, but they are able to sleep through the night and have been doing so since they were about six weeks old. They know that if they wake up during the night they are supposed to try to go back to sleep unless something is wrong (like they are sick). I don't know if there is any reason that you can't start instilling this in your son, but it might be a good thing to try.

im not a mother now.. but. i also experience staying late up @ night just to watch my pamangkin.. its a mess that in the middle of my dream, ill be awakened..

I've been going through this with my oldest. He's been having a heck of a time going to sleep lately. It's been this way for a few months now. I think some of it has to do with puberty. He'll be 13 next month. Though I think another part is that he might be scared to fall sleep. Nightmares maybe? With him being autistic he can't tell my husband or I what's going on, which can make for some frustrating nights I'm afraid. It's not always so bad. My husband and I can sometimes use massage on him to get him to fall asleep, although it doesn't always work, especially if we don't catch it in time or if our son isn't ready to go to sleep. But when it works, it works beautifully...most of the time anyway. Once he falls asleep he usually stays asleep and then whichever one of us is giving him the massage can finally sneak away and get some sleep too. Well, I hope you can figure out something for you and your son. Because not getting enough sleep sure can take a toll on the body. Good luck!

Understanding our kids behavior is a type of self-nature-nurture learning process as we all as a parent also a kid in our past time. From what I noticed, kid's sleeping pattern depends on their level of life activeness and something very interesting for us to analyze related to their personality. It categorizes them into these formation, either; active, or super active, or hyperactive. I think identifying our kids' sleeping pattern and formation related to their academic achievement is something psychologically very special, to determine their level of IQ (Intelligence Quotient). Yes and for sure in analyzing this process it will also taking our time including our own sleeping time. But, the results from it is noteworthy for us as a parent to take the next action in supporting their IQ growth and the related academic development. From this point, a parent can may be write up one ebook as one good source of writing article from prolific/profound experience.

I do feel really sorry for you. I watch a programme called 'super nanny' who deals with difficult children. I hasten to add that your little lad doesnt sound difficult just perhaps attention seeking. One programme dealt with a little boy, younger than yours, who would just not settle. He was up and down all night, the light was too bright, the clock was ticking too loud, then the light was too dim. he wanted a drink etc etc and it went on and on. Super nanny suggested a relaxing bath, a bed time story, ( perhaps a 8 year old may be too old for stories)and a settled time for bed. then when he started getting up, taking him back to bed. if i remember rightly, she said first few times to tell him to stay in bed. then after that not to say anything, but just guide him back to bed and ignore him if he spoke to you. eventually it did work, but i may have got some of the details wrong. See if you can see some of her programmes. Also it might be that he is a little bit scared so a low light might help him. But you are not alone , its a problem that baffles lots of parents. when my son was little up to toddling age, i really thought i would never have a full nights sleep ever !!!

hes 8 years not 8 months.. have ya tried simply telling him NO ? to humor that behavior is rediculous.. yer kid isnt going to behave and do as hes told if you allow it and not give him any reason TO behave. turn his lights out.. tell em to get his obstinant little butt into bed or hes restricted from tv/vid games/etc for a week.. see if that inspires em to knock off his nightly shenanigans

Hi, jugsjugs. I know how it is. I have a two year old, now that tends to wake up so early in the mornings, around, 2 and 3 in the mornings. She will want to stay up and play. But it is too early for that. People around us are trying to rest and she wants to be up. She wants to sing, and make noise. Last week, she was sleeping really well. She will have her stubborn moments. If she gets upset, my husband will have to take her out of the door so that she can get some air.. It is very tiresome. I will be glad when we move into a house so that way the neighbors won't be disturbed. Her sleep habits are back to normal. She just wants to get up when she wants to. And it is so early in the mornings when we all are trying to rest. It is very stressful. I know how you feel. Just do the best that you can, you can only do this.

Its the hardest thing to go through when you are not getting a good night sleep. Are you putting your son to bed at the same time everynight? Is there down time before he goes to sleep where he is relaxing? Not playing and having fun and then going to straight to bed. Maybe try honey milk that is what my mom would give us to simmer down and go to sleep. I hope this helps you in some way. Good luck.

hi there. sorry to hear your son doesn't sleep much. Unfortunately I don't have any advice to offer as I have not experienced similar but I hope things get better. Hang in there!

I don't know you or your family nor do I know anything about what your son may fear. However he may be expressing his fears in some way that you'll be able to figure out soon. What kind of programs does he watch on T.V. before bed. Does he watch the news or does he hear you discussing the current news with others. Children hear somethings one way be their minds eye see what they hear another way. You need to talk with him not his teacher because your there for him at night not the teacher(unless the teacher lives with you). Let him know no matter what he feels you are there for him day or night.

Does he suffer continuously from this type of sleep disorder? If so, then he needs doctor’s advice as something seems to be bothering him. I’ve heard that some people are insomniacs from childhood….if its that then at least you’ll know it as that and not have to worry. Not getting whole night’s sleep is detrimental to everybody’s health…I remember the times when my son was a baby and wouldn’t sleep the whole night Thank God those days are over …. But 8yr old not sleeping is not common…pls take him to the doctor.

that's usually the case of having babies. i experienced that too and i feel like having a hang over when going to work.it is best if you don't have work and that mothers just stay at home.

I have discovered that now I have problems with insomnia occasionally so it's not even the fact that I have kids that keeps me awake at night. I could go take some tylenol pm too but instead I am here typing. Are there any physical reasons why your son has trouble staying asleep at night? I know that sleep disturbances can be all over, from not being able to fall asleep, to not being able to stay asleep, to waking up over and over or a combination. I truly believe at 8 that he should be able to take care of his own needs and allow the rest of you to sleep without having to get up and cater to him. When my older kids were younger I would tell them if they were tired, they needed to go to bed earlier. Now I couldn't FORCE either of them to go to sleep, only enforce a bedtime meaning that was when the tvs and games and lights had to go off and they were to be in bed. That didn't necessarily mean either of them went to sleep. I warned them too that if they didn't go to sleep, that was not my problem, and if they were tired again, it wasn't my problem either as I did what I could to ensure they COULD sleep should they want to, and I suggested it. Kids will eventually 'get it' if you tell them what they can do to fix their situation if they don't like it. Sometimes it takes a LONG time but it depends on the kid. My youngest is also more of a night person, but when she won't go to bed, I just remind her she will be tired and crabby in the morning. What can you do, you can't make anybody sleep.

Hi jugs!! That must be really stressful on your part since you have a lot of things to do the next day. Why don't you try letting him drink milk before sleeping. I hope it would help.

Children's habit will not be constant for a long time. It keep changing as they grow. Here in your case, it is not clear his past behaviour. How is he in the day time? Do he play for long time or just gloomy? If he has more physical activities, he may sleep at night. Also does he sleep at day time for 3-4 hours? Then also he may not sleep at night. If it is occasionally happens then I think it is Ok, he will change later on. But shows a regular habit, then need to check how many hours he sleeps in a day/night. As per his age, it is time to be normal. Observe him for some time more. Regards, Thank-s

Do the periods of disturbed sleep relate to anything going on in his life? Maybe a problem at school, bullying, falling out with friends, worrying about something, that kind of thing? If it is not a continual thing, it might just relate to a short term problem that keeps him awake at night? I know as an adult, I can be kept awake when my mind is going over a problem.