Natural things or supplements to help a child get to sleep at night...

[Dianne-TX]

Our ds11 has been having a hard time getting to sleep at night for awhile now. We are thinking he is going through the beginning of puberty, so I'm sure there are other changes going on in his body and brain, etc. that could be causing this. He also gets anxious about bedtime, not always obviously, but I can tell. He is a lot like me as a child personality-wise and I also had sleep trouble my whole childhood. I remember having insomnia often, anxiety about not being to get to sleep and being anxious/excited about the next day, etc... I can still have issues even now, but having kiddos and life as a Mommy takes care of the being tired business these days. :lol: Seeing him go through this, though, brings back memories and I would end up on my parent's floor to sleep and did that until I was 13. :) We've done melatonin some, but ran out. I want to find out what else is out there. We also use essential oils for calming and he likes that. I notice that if we use something, he wants it every night to help him out, so I wasn't sure if we should continue with melatonin. Oh, we also took his clock out of his room and that helped a little, but he still will have nights when he gets up two hours after going to bed and he's still awake after reading and doing other calming things to relax, including just lay there and wait to fall asleep. He would constantly look at his clock, especially if he knew he had to get up at a certain time the next day, and that just made it worse, so taking it out has helped him a lot. We also don't do caffeine, even early in the day. I noticed a long time ago he was sensitive to green tea when he would drink it at my mother's, so we are picky about that. We've done some things to try and help him, but would like to see if there are some other natural calming supplements or other products that will help him.

[Rebel Yell]

Lavender- real actual lavender, not a fake chemical room spray. Crush some dried lavender flowers and put them in a sachet- sniff deeply. Or a good quality essential oil.

 

Also, Celestial Seasonings Tension Tamer tea. It doesn;t leave you feeling weird the next morning. I prefer it at room temperature, SweetChild likes it with a little bit of honey.

[NotSoObvious]

Swimming everyday seems to be doing the trick for us!

[Shawndrese]

I know someone who gives her child melatonin....

[Dianne-TX]

Thanks!

 

Being on bed rest in pregnancy kind of makes it hard to go swimming everyday. :-/

 

Tea is a good idea. I think he'll like that. We already use therapeutic grade lavender oil and a calming one, too.

 

I've heard of a supplement called Calm Child or something like that. Anyone know of it?

[FLDebbie]

Since you can't go swimming, than send him out to play or at least run around in the yard. I was the same way as a kid and have a son the same way. Physical activity during the day (not right before bedtime) does the trick. Even now, if I can't sleep, I do squats and lunges and it seems to help.

[Amy1k]

My daughter is 11 and has insomnia. Her doctor prescribed TV-free evenings and melatonin (5mg) as needed. :)

[Amy1k]

My daughter is a...fussy...sleeper. She likes routine, things in their proper place, specific blankets...and WILL.NOT. sleep without an eyecover. She's been this way as long as I can remember.

[sbgrace]

My son takes a very low dose of melatonin. He's done it (upon doctor recommendation) for years. I think, when it works, it's the best option. Was it working or was he waking with it? If he was waking you could try a lower dose and maybe extended release. There are some very low dose extended release forms I've found if you want recommendations for that. If what you used worked I'd probably go back to it.

 

The lights reduce his melatonin--bad for his sleep and health. Oops--it's Low Blue Lights co. https://www.lowbluelights.com/index.asp? sells some things that may help. My son has a nightlight thing from them with the blue light filtered out so it doesn't affect melatonin production. If he wants to read though their glasses may be a great option. It might be good anyway because your son could wear them (as suggested) prior to going to bed. Maybe it will make a huge difference and he won't need the melatonin et al.

 

It does sound like a routine with something for calming he could take might help him a lot mentally and that's half the battle for many with insomnia (I, like my son and yours, have sleep issues too so I get it).

Edited June 7, 2012 by sbgrace

[Dianne-TX]

Thanks everyone. I think we'll get some more melatonin. We just ran out last night. After getting to bed pretty late and getting up this a.m., I think he's tired tonight, so hopefully he'll make one more night until we get some more. Being tired, though, doesn't always mean he'll go right to sleep. I am the same way. :-/

[GingerPoppy]

Magnesium citrate in the powdered (highly absorbable) form, called Kids Calm or Natural Calm by Peter Gillham. 1 tsp dissolved in boiling water taken right at bedtime. This has helped my daughter and I a great deal over the years.

[KnitWit]

http://www.amazon.com/Calms-Forte-Kids-125-Tablets/dp/B0012BYIRC

 

We use Calms Forte for kids and adults. Works great for us. It's homeopathic, NOT a sleeping pill and doesn't make you feel groggy at all.

 

I use Natural Calm sometimes, it is good too.