how do you help your child go to sleep? | ADHD Information

How have you guys who have your children on meds help them to go to sleep?

 

Also, and this is an off question, we are now gonna try focalin.  How has this med worked for some of you??  we are gonna use the short acting kind.  Did you find that this disturbed the sleep issue just the same as the extended release stuff?

My daughter is not on meds but has so much energy when trying to go to
sleep. I help her relax using massage. I start with her toes and say "relax
your toes, your toes are being massaged, your toes are relaxed" in a nice
soft voice. I move to the foot, then ankle, shin, calve etc. When I'm
finished, I rub her back until she is almost asleep. While it is a bit of a pain
to do it, it really only takes about 10 minutes. If left to her own devices,
she will toss and turn for an hour before falling asleep.mamamia - can you come to my house and give me a massage?    I could totally relax with that!

Another suggestion to help sleep would be a white noise machine or some relaxing music like harps or flutes (you can get those at target).  Listening to these sounds are soothing.  They work for me.
Try GABA Calm, extended release melatonin, or Celestial Seasonings Sleepy Time Extra tea. Jessica N40017.9117939815Well, I'm 19 so I never had to put a kid to bed, but I do have a few tricks I
use to fall asleep that may help. Recently I brought my TV home from
college and it has a sleep button and sleep for 30, 60 or 120 minutes. I
always put in a dvd I really like or show on dvd and then I put in on sleep
in 60 minutes. I have done it for a week and I fall asleep within 15
minutes and don't even realize it and then the TV turns itself off when I
am already fast asleep. I just turn over facing away from the TV close my
eyes and listen to the dvd as I fall asleep. I know one kid I baby-sit likes
the door open because he is above the family room and it is a 2 story
ceiling in the family room so he always listens to the TV as he falls asleep
because his parents watch TV after he goes to bed. He would always ask
me to turn on the TV if I wasn't using it. Obviously this is not always an
option and I definitely won't be continuing this when I move back into a
dorm with a roommate but if your kid has a TV in there room it could be
worth a shot on a night when you are having a lot of difficulty putting
your kid to bed. I do notice having trouble falling when on meds and I
tend to make it worse when I get mad or upset or frusterated that I still
have not fallen asleep. It is really important to be relaxed when you are
trying to fall asleep and when you are having trouble falling asleep it is
really hard to relax, so try your best to help them relax. When I was a kid
I was given a baby blanket that is smooth, soft and made of the same
material as long underwear(you know the lowered checkered pattern) and
it always feels soft and cold and really good on your hands, so I would
always play with it in my hands and run it through my hands and this was
very self soothing and always calmed me down. I could not fall asleep
without them but it always calmed me down and helped me fall asleep.
Some people use medication, but if it were me I'd try some other options
first. Also, I took focalin for about 3 years. I really liked it because I got
less side effects but this past year just felt that it was not working well
anymore. I took both extended release and short acting at different times
in the period. I always felt like it lasted less time than the other
medications I took. With the short acting I had not trouble falling asleep.
Although it all depends on the person and what times you plan on taking
it. One of my problems is that I tend to take medication late around 10-
12 and sometimes later so longer acting like vyvanse keep me up. When I
took short acting before 5pm I was fine but if it was after 8pm I could not
sleep, but then again I don't ever go to bed before midnight so it
probably really depends on when it is taken and when bed time is. Have
you started it yet? Trying it out is the best way to know because it can be
so individual and summer is a good time to try it. You could try taking it
when it will be taken when school is in session and see if there are any
sleep problems and then adjust the time and see if that helps. Also, does
your child have trouble sleeping when off medication or is it just a
medicine thing. Well, this was a little long and I hope some of it is helpful.
Good luck.

I give my son 1.5 mg of melatonin from time to time to help him relax.  I take it too (3mg) and it really does seem to help me turn off the busy part of my brain at night so that I can get some rest.

On a side note too, we are going to try the extended release version of focalin to see if he likes it.  Other xr meds have produced poor behaviors so I am a little wary.

Focalin has always worked great for ds, but the extended release never
lasted very long. We use short acting focalin when needed with concerta.

We give ds melatonin sometimes. Benadryl sometimes as well. He has a
hepa filter fan that is sort of like a white noise machine. It sits right next to
his bed and helps clear his room of allergens.

In the past, I have put audio books on my ipod and/or music and let him
listen to it while in bed. He will shut it off and go to sleep. I also let him
read in bed to relax him. Reading is always relaxing (if we can pay attention long enough).  I also do sudoku.  I have a little book light attached to my sudoku book so it's already pretty dark in my room.  Before I put my A/C in my window, the automatic sprinklers on the apartment complex grounds would often wake me up.  It's incredible how sensitive I am to noises at night.  I asked them to change the timer but don't know if that's been done.  I also use ear plugs if neighbors are too noisy.  I don't waste any time waiting for them to be quiet.  Sometimes a glass of milk helps too.  Eventually though, I do get some sleep even if it's not a lot.  Often I find that if I didn't get a lot of sleep one night, the next night I sleep a bit better.

Oh, and as a kid, I used to pretend that I was in a hospital, immobile and people would come to visit me as I was sleeping.  If kids are old enough, they could also try some simple relaxation techniques such as imagining all the energy leaving their feet, then their legs, and work the way up.  Mom or Dad may have to assist and be the facilitator of which body part to focus on.  These worked for me when I was young.
kjl269140004.5911574074

My son's Dr. recommended Melatonin and it works very well.  His problem was that his Ritalin was wearing off right about bedtime and he would get very hyper.  It was almost impossible for him to slow down to go to sleep without me physically holding him so he would stop running around the room (he's 4).  The Melatonin slows him down and makes him drowsy-he's never been drowsy before, ever!  If your child also has a problem staying asleep throughout the night, there is also the extended release Melatonin.

Good luck!

My daughter takes 3mg melatonin and I just got her a sound machine (Walmart .95).  She takes Daytrana, which is a patch instead of a pill, and we like that because we have her take it off while at school so that it wears off in time for her to eat dinner and it seems to help her get to sleep better.  She also reads before she goes to sleep.  This combination, while not perfect, has worked rather well.

I play tapes/cd's of books on tape.  Children's stories.  Like the Odyssey books, or whatever ones you can find that are attractive to your age children.

I keep the volume down low enough so they have to listen in order to hear the story.  It seemed to work well for me.  They were almost always asleep before the end of a 30-min. segment!  And couldn't wait for tomorrow night's installment, which also helped GET them to bed!

You can play the same ones frequently.  They don't mind, just like they like to have the same books read over and over. 

I myself find reading good but only if it is a boring book, a never-ending boring book is also quite good, like the complete history of the Roman Empire. Everyone has their own choice.

My son's going to bed massage is called 'pizza massage' and I pretend to make pizza on his back , from chopping up the onions, kneading the dough, sprinkling on the herbs, slicing the salami, the lot. I agree it is a pain but if they are having difficulties it is a real help. It can get too interesting with their preferences and them making requests but if you always do things in the same order there isnt any debate. Of course relaxation music, taking any books or magazines away from reach, herb tea are good.

We also do a tense/relax thing where I tell him he has to hold his whole muscles tight until I say have counted to 15 slowly and then on the count of 15 he can relax. He lays there his whole body goes as tight as a board and then when he relaxes some of the energy is released and he is better able to enjoy the relaxed feeling.

I have a daughter who is Bipolar and one who is ADHD they both have trouble sleeping therefore the dr has perscribed them a very light sleeping aid that you can get over the counter. It works wonderfully and my girls can tell if they have forgotten to take it. It's Melatonin. It's like and herbal sleeping aid.My son has used Melatonin for years(as do I) for the sleep issues. He sleeps but not that great all the time. Sometimes he awakes with black bags under his eyes and the doc and I have just started discussing a possible sleep study as both his parents have restless leg and sleep apnea. He is almost 11 and takes 5 mg as per doctors orders. < =text/>_popupControl(); My son falls asleep pretty easily. He takes focalin XR, but his dosage wears off shortly after school, about 4pm.  We have always followed the same bedtime routine, with deviation only when he sleeps at a friend's house. He gets a warning at 8:55pm, comes upstairs at 9pm, reads on his bed until 9:30pm, his dad reads to him until 9:45pm, then toothbrushing, prayers, I turn some music on and then sleep. I always say the same thing,"Love you! Goodnight! Absolutely no yelling or getting up unless you are bleeding, throwing up, or the house is on fire."  It usually works.  The only thing that has changed over time is the time, since his bedtime has been pushed back as he gets older.here's the list:
Clonidine
weaned him off clonidine with Melatonin,
then "Gabba Calm"

Non med methods used:
needed a completely black room as a baby & toddler
soft environmental sounds tape
bedtime routine
reading
no tv, computer or other stimulation an hour or so before bed
flannel sheets
heavy blankets
winding yarn into a ball as he laid on his bed in the dark (his idea)

Good Luck!

winding yarn. interesting. we might try it.