My son, 6 years old, is terrible at going to bed. He takes 1mg of melatonin during the week. It helps him wind down but when it actually comes time to go to his bed he ALWAYS gives me trouble. He is VERY attached to me AT NIGHT! During the day he likes to be with me but he gets obsessed at night. Usually he will not go to sleep unless I am right there and if not he will cry and sometimes go into a major fit. He says he likes to cuddle. It is hard for me at night because I worry that he really is afraid of something and it is the one time of the day that he will just settle down and let me hold him. Once he is asleep I can go to bed and he is fine. Do I let him have the fit and the melt down and not sit with him? Do I pacify this one thing? Any advice would be welcome!
Also, he seems addicted to TV. He LOVES animal planet (not in an autistic sort of way though). He will also watch any other educational tv show if it is on. Sometimes he will watch cartoons, etc. but TV seems to be turning into an obsession. Has anyone else had this issue?
Thanks for any help.
I make it a habit to read every night to my son. He is allowed a few minutes of tv and then we bathe and then it is his night snack/milk (doctor recommended due to having reactive hypoglycemia on top of ad/hd). After we have a small appropriate snack we read 2-3 books depending on length of books. This is our nightly routine and I find that a consistent night routine has been very beneficial. I find him wanting to watch less t.v. and wanting to have me read more. He usually falls asleep pretty quickly at that point. It helps with his need to cuddle too. He is able to fall asleep more easily on his own now than in the past when I might have not been as consistent.yes ,a bedtime routine is vital.dad gives him his bath,read him his book,then stays with him until he falls asleep,when dad is offshore i take him with me .he gets 3 mg of melatonin and pasiflora comp,also we find a massage helps him relax,we have an oil from the homeopath.
ADHD kids,my psy says loves tv and computer something to do with the graphics being the same speed than their brain.but we have to encourage them to do other things,i put the tv on in the morning for breakfast,then i get him to play with his toys or outside,or we take him somewhere to keep him occupied.