Difficult Child

by Nina
(Norway)

Question: I have a 2 1/2 old girl who is very hard to deal with. She is never hungry, she fights sleeping, even when she is really tired we have to rock her to sleep. She wakes up every 2 hours at night.

She does not listen to what I say. At day care she cries most of the time. She never eats there or plays with other kids. At home I scream at her all the time, she make so mad. Please help.

Answer: The first thing I would focus on is getting her good sleep at night. It is likely that once she starts sleeping better she will be in a better mood during the day and be better behaved. I have some great recommendations on my page for children that have a problem sleeping.

I also highly reocmmend getting the following book that was a life saver for me when my son also had sleep issues from the time he was born until he was 8 months and I got this book.



One thing the book mentions that often helps sleep problems is an earlier bedtime between 6 and 8 p.m. Often parents will put a child to bed late thinking it will help them sleep better, but it actually has a reverse effect due to overstimulating the child.

Another consideration would be that maybe she is having difficulty with sensory processing and this is why she has difficulties sleeping as well as other challenges during the day.

If you review my pages on this and feel that she has many of the symptoms listed, getting help from a local occupational therapist (OT) that has experience in sensory integration would be your best option.

An OT would be able to prescribe a sensory diet and other treatments that can help immensely with sleep and other issues it sounds like she is having.

Good Luck!

Rachel