Sleeping Issues w/7 yo Daughter

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote:
Yes, but unless she has been tested and shown to have low levels of malatonin it is not appropriate. Like all substances, there can be undesirable side effects. With this particular hormone, some of the side effects can be severe.

 

[agnes_day]

i would just let her stay up and read, or play some computer games. i have a couple like this.

 

[mangled]

Thanks for all the replies.

I generally just let her go. I'm making it a point not to make an issue out of it with her, because I don't want it to become an issue.

We have a very low-sugar, heart healthy diet here, as my son has a very serious heart defect. We don't allow caffeine at all, and the bedtime snack is usually something like low-fat yogurt or cottage cheese, or low-sugar cereal.

She usually just lays in bed and reads, or draws pictures.

She is an advanced child. She's in advanced placement at school, and is very quick to pick up on new things.

It's good to know she seems to be pretty normal for her age.

Thanks again, everyone.

Em

 

[lacasitarojafarm]

Quote:
I am a night owl as well. I always have been. I also have a hard time falling asleep. I think too much while I am laying there trying to relax enough to feel sleepy. When I was pregnant I prayed and prayed that my daughter would be an early to sleep, sleep like arock person like my husband (she is). So I *always* read at night unless I am ill or super-duper tired (maybe once or twice a year) and I keep NPR on very low all night. I have a white noise machine for whne I travel and cant get NPR. Otherwise I won't sleep. Once I am asleep I an a light sleeper until about 5am when I start to sleep hard and can sleep until 10 am easy, even if I went to bed early. My mother says my father is the same way. He worked nights my whole childhood. It must be hereditary. If she's just readying with a night light I'd just let her read and maybe have a nap during the day?

 

[nonseq]

TVs and computers produce blue light which inhibits the body's production of melatonin. Do fluorescents? I think they do.....

And Sonoran, there aren't any severe side effects of low dose, short-term use of melatonin. It merely encourages the body to produce the hormone earlier. I can pull up the Wiki or WebMD pieces on it, if you like. Both pieces cite studies.

 

[darkmatter]

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Yeah,----right. I'd had problems with "turning off the mind" in order to sleep, so the Missus bought me some Melatonin to try. It worked---but..... it gave me strange lucid dreams of a disturbing nature. I tried not taking and taking the melatonin to see if the dreams were related, they were. So I don't take it anymore. So now I'll read in bed till I'm sleepy if I can't go right to sleep. I can't recommend Melatonin.

 

[SallyF]

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One of the neat things about this website is finding that you are not alone in something you've done, but never talked about. Beginning as a child, I did the same thing. I had several ongoing favorite stories, some woven around favorite books I had read, some that I just made up. They were always tucked away in my brain and I'd get them out at bedtime and continue the themes. Like CityGirl, I still do it sometimes and I'm in my sixties now. Ironically, my dad always had a radio going at his bedside, which I never understood, but I do it now also. Like the stories, the radio takes my mind off my concerns and sends it elsewhere. I don't listen to music, usually to talk radio. He always listened to baseball games.

 

[Three Cedars Silkies]

My daugher was the same way at the same age. I just let her lay in bed and read and she would eventually fall asleep. She just never seemed to need as much sleep as other kids her age. Same for her...extremely bright, very verbal, gifted classes, etc....must have something to do with their busy minds.

 

[CityGirlintheCountry]

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How fun to find someone else that does this! For the longest time I thought it was only me. As I child I remember mentioning it to cousins and they looked at me like I was crazy! I just stopped talking about it then. I still use it to calm my thoughts though when my brain is too wired. And you are right, I had several ongoing favorite stories based both on books and my own imagination. The stories changed over the years, but I still have great memories of some of them. Like my own personal movie collection. (I'm a VERY vivid dreamer too. I'm sure it is all connected.)

Thanks for sharing!

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/melatonin-side-effects/AN01717
http://www.herbal-supplements-guide.com/melatonin-side-effects.html
http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/melatonin-000315.htm
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/patient-melatonin.html
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/melatonin-for-children.html

There are definitely risksl how severe for a particular individual, no one can really say with absolute certainty, but as I stated earlier, without a demonstrated low level of melatonin, it seems like potential risks outweigh possible benefits.