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Expert Q&A

	By Sonny Elliott Family Counselor/Author

I have an 11-year-old boy who has been having trouble getting to sleep the last six to eight months. He says it's not bad dreams. He worries now that he won't be able to get to sleep so he ends up awake until way too late. He says he doesn't like it when everyone else is asleep and he is awake. This is a kid who had no problem going to sleep before and sleeping through the night. How can I help him back to his room and bed again?

I suspect your child was sleeping fine, and then something happened, and your child hasn't been sleeping well since then. Do you know what happened? It might be very useful to take your child back to that time, and discover what happened.

If your unable to do a version of this then that leaves you guessing as to what the issue is as well as the appropriate solution. And, I suspect something emotionally happened such as an older child scaring him, or telling him scary stories, or an impressionable television program, that has him being watchful or fearful at night or in the dark.

Perhaps you could lie down with your child in his bed until he goes to sleep, reading to him, assuring him all is well.

I do think the less you make of this -- the less drama and the more "fun" you could have with him -- would be very beneficial. Perhaps you can suggest a game that when he stays awake he sees how many books he can read, or have him read something that will make him sleepy. (For adults it is technical materials!) Or perhaps a game where "who gets the most sleep" wins a prize.

If none of the above is fruitful, then perhaps you should see a counselor, or perhaps your medical doctor would give you a mild sedative to "re-train" his sleeping habits.

Since there is no telling what the emotional basis is for this problem, the sooner you have a solution the better off your child will be, and yourself as well!

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