School age kids if suffer from anxiety may be an easy victim for developing complex sleep related disorders including sleepwalking,daytime sleepiness, sleep apnea, sleep deprivation, bedwetting, and others. Kids obviously do not bear job related anxiety but school-age kids have their own anxieties, such as being unpopular, flunking an exam, even disappointing you.Scary real-life possibilities (burglars, fires) also can keep them up. Kids used to sleeping with you may get anxious when made to go solo.

Your child is exhausted but won’t close her eyes, or suddenly gets a stomachache at bedtime. She may ask for a glass of water or one more hug after lights-out; a kid who won’t sleep alone will complain or cry when you leave.

Try not to judge or berate her for causing the problem Instead, have her purge her worries into a journal. Writing helps get things out so you don’t take them to bed. Encourage her to deal with lingering fears in the morning. If they persist or seem severe, talk to your pediatrician.

As for breaking the sleep-with-Mom habit, it may be easier now than when she was younger.Kids over 5 are eager to please and can often be enticed by rewards, especially if they have a say in what they will be (within reason!).

Your kid may need a bigger night-light and a “Mommy pillow,” a body pillow with her mom’s image traced in fabric paint.

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Filed under: Anxiety • Daytime Sleepiness • Other Disorders • Sleep • Sleep Apnea • Sleep Apnea Awareness • Sleep Apnea Effects • Sleep Apnea in Children • Sleep Deprivation • Sleep Disordered Breathing • Sleep Disorders • Sleep Problems • Sleepwalking • Stress

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