FoggyRock General Forum

Does anyone have any suggestions for getting a child to sleep on their own? My daughter seems to do this in phases. She has, at times, been very easy to put to bed - a song, a movie or a story was all it would take. Lately though (and I suspect it has something to do with her budding perception that I can't physically MAKE her go to bed) she refuses to go to sleep unless I am there in the room with her, for several hours. This has me really in need of some time to myself, just to THINK (or write, read a book, clean my house, whatever). It also makes it difficul to get a babysitter (just family) so that I can have some time out of the house (I can't blame it all on that though, my family doesn't really care if I have a life outside of my home).

I'm planning on discussing it with her doctor at her physical next month but, I suspect the only remedy they will be able to offer is some type of medication. I've always been pretty much against medication but, in this case I would probably make an exception based on desperation alone. Since my daughter will not take medication anyway, I don't think this will be all that helpful. I don't know about other children but my daughter can smell and taste even the smallest amount of the least offensive medications in her juice (which is the only way I have ever been able to administer them). Seriously, sometimes I feel like I'm in a spy movie secretly spiking the cocktail of an advisary with truth serum then trying to appear uninterested as I wait patiently to see if she actually drinks it (if I am too eager she gets suspicious and won't touch it - she totally knows).

Case in point, my daughter has always run very high fevers when she is sick and she gets very lathargic. I have learned not to be too anxious about this over the years and just wait it out but, in the times where concern has gotten the best of me I have had to force medication into her (she won't drink at all when she gets this way). One time I brought her to the emergency room and do you know what they suggested? Motrin. Sure, I said, you give it to her. Well, with the assistance of a nurse, an orderly and her stepdad I was able to hold her down and force the motrin into her. She was three years old at the time. My daughter is now 10 years old, 5'4" and about 120 pounds... The last time we tried this approach a couple of years ago, she got none of the medicine into her system but did force herself to throw up, hyperventilate and get a nice cut on her gums from the syringe style doser thingy (I don't know what the heck you call those things).

Anyway, I guess I'm just frustrated with people who don't get it but I really would like some advice on bedtime strategies...