idea to help kids sleep

[Jena]

hi

i learned this little odd thing from the family therapist in oregon. it made me laugh initially because it's odd and what iv'e done with-my puppy and my big dog at times when kenneled or i'm gone for a long time.

sooo she said to me i worked in residential for years. alot of kids there had sleep issues being away from home etc.

i told their parents send a t shirt with-their smell on it so they can sleep with it.

so i told difficult child i had an idea to help her at bedtime that it may seemn silly yet for right now to adjust to sleeping in her own room again i think it may help.

so she laughed too and said what am i a dog? she said give it to me in the next breath.

i took an old tshirt sprayed my perfume on it past two nights she sleeps with it. clearly we dont' want our kids doing this thru their entire lives. clearly unhealthy yet to help sure why not. if it makes them feel safer.

so anyhow it seems to be helping a bit. part placebo part it's really helping i think.

so grab a tshirt and give it to your kids?!

just a simple idea i thought id share that i learned.

oh one more....

she said keep a bucket under bed of..... these little things. i'll have to find them on internet send link. their handheld little tiny plastic things with water and different colored jelll in them that moves when u move it. she said that can be the one thing she can do in bed if she can't sleep. them moving it watching the water and diff color jell tends to soothe and calm them.

good luck one sleepless parent to the next

 

[HaoZi]

I used to do that with ex's cologne when he would go camping with his buddies. The right sized t-shirt makes a half-decent pillowcase in a pinch, too. You can also just spray the pillow or pillowcase, too.

 

[svengandhi]

I actually gave up and finally let the border collie start sleeping with my 11 year old. He no longer comes to my room in the middle of the night and in the morning says he has slept better. It was quite an ordeal for me because I do not believe in pets in bedrooms and I was very afraid he'd be pooped on or worse. Now, my daughter takes one of the other dogs in to her room when she's home from college.

I used to sleep with one of H's shirts when he was away. Now, I don't care anymore.

 

[DammitJanet]

I dont think the tee shirt thing is so odd. I know wives of men in the service who sleep with one of their husbands shirts the whole time they are gone. Obviously it has to have lost the smell before they get home but its a comfort thing. I have heard of widows who dont get rid of their deceased partners clothing for a long time because they could open the closet doors and smell them.

Makes sense to me.

 

[jal]

Not odd at all. We just went through a month where husband had to stay every night at his mom's because her husband was in the hospital and she was confined to a wheel chair waiting spinal fusion (discharged to rehab yesterday, yeah!). difficult child (8) requested a sweatshirt from husband so he could sleep with it and difficult child is a great sleeper, but it was comforting to him because he is such a daddy's boy.

 

[Jena]

ah so i'm last on board with-the t shirt thing ?? LOL ok could you guys of told me this umm 4 years ago?? LOL just kidding.

i'Tourette's Syndrome been working like a charm. i've cut out all bedtime rituals in portland also. i don't sing to her anymore, i don't rub her back anymore. it's just going in talking for five minutes she begins to go negative and i tell her you know what you did an awesome job today. you should be so proud tmrw's going to be better. i just keep literally ignoring the negative don't know how good that is yet seems to be working.

she slept again last night. yet flight's really knocked her out. i let her sleep in again today. monday we'll start our wake up a certain time routine. hopefully she'll gain some confidence if this keeps up that she can be alone. the zyprexa though is giving her major nightmares.