sleeplessness in child

[Willy]

Hi again,

I agree with you completly. It was one of the reasons that I did not want to
prescribe again.

The problem is not with the child. It is not the she wants to go to bed.
The mother wants the child to sleep in the afternoon, because she believes
this is the right way to do

Thanks again for your reply

Best regards, Willy
-------Oorspronkelijk bericht-------
Van: minutus@yahoogroups.com
Datum: 07/05/05 13:02:27
Aan: minutus@yahoogroups.com
Onderwerp: [Minutus] Re: sleeplessness in child
Hi WIlly,
2.5 to 3 hours is too long for an afternoon sleep. It is a practical
step and I doubt it requires a remedy.
ONe cannot expect a child who has slept very well during the day to
sleep again at night, though there are children who seem to be able
to sleep all the time...but today with the amount of stimuli in the
environment, I think this is rare.

ONE way to wake the child earlier (in the afternoon) is to get them
to come watch a tv show they like or else a promise for icecream or
something.
All the best!

--- In minutus@yahoogroups.com, "Willy" wrote:
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[Shannon Nelson]

A tangent...
It would be SO much better to find something other than TV or ice cream
to wake up for!!!!! What about a walk, a special toy (clay? pipe
cleaners? puzzles?), a story, a friend--something that *builds* the
child, to support their healthful and helpful interests, not junk food
for the mind and body.

If they worry that she'll fuss when she's woken, maybe something like
cuddling and reading together for a while would help? (If that's an
option under the circumstances, and if she responds to that?)

Re the mother's fear of being treated herself, perhaps it would help if
you offer to start her with low potency doses (or LMs if you are
familiar with their use) so that she *won't* have to go thru this
again? (And of course getting the details from the prior h'th would be
good!)

Shannon

[doctorleelah2h]

Sigh, Shannon, you push mothering to new heights! I'm woefully
inadequate...

I've got the beach about 100 metres from my home - if I enjoyed the
exercise in a 40 deg C heat, I may suggest that ... but otherwise, I'd
go for the cuddling, story telling bit.
ONly problem, that's how put them to sleep...

--- In minutus@yahoogroups.com, Robert & Shannon Nelson
wrote:
cream
food

[Rosemary C Hyde, Ph.D., C.C.H., RSHom\(NA\)]

Actually, for what it's worth, the biggest motivation for her would also provide useful remedy information -- e.g. cuddling as opposed to ice cream )

Rosemary

[Shannon Nelson]

(feverish laughter on the "new heights" remark! :-)P) I can talk a
good game, and I try! ) But more to the point, I have seen
*vividly* and repeatedly in my own (evidently very susceptible) kids
what a difference it makes if they *don't* do too much of "plug-in
glowing objects". I've seen the sometimes huge differences between
their friends who are "gadget addicted" and the ones who have actually
learned to play non-electronically. It's quite a bug of mine... And
if I were a *working* mama, I'm sure I'd wimp out on the subject even
way more often than I do, sigh...

[doctorleelah2h]

NEver mind the feverishness, another thing I wish I had was your
accent and turn of phrase... its entertaining!
Growing up in Mumbai unfortunately shows.... I think its the lack of
imagination... Too much concrete probably...

Yes I agree, we could do with a Course on - what are the alternatives
to being plugged in. THough I quite like the kiddeys programme "HIGH
FIVE" from Australia, myself. Also "BArney and Friends" homegrown in
the US is nice as well.
I get them to sing songs - but often I have to be at the keyboard
along with them...

All 3 kids at the moment are busy "coulouring" .
I only allow palinting if there is an adult to supervise otherwise
everything in the room (floor, walls, furniture) looks painted.

What are your other unplugged activities (or agegoup 2-6) that don't
require continious supervision?
--- In minutus@yahoogroups.com, Robert & Shannon Nelson
wrote:
a
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actually
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[Shannon Nelson]

Off-topic, so taking it private...
If anyone else wants to join that backchannel thread, let me know!
Shannon

[Joy Lucas]

I suppose it is off topic although it does bring into discussion about
when to give a rx for a situation and when NOT to do so because some
other 'remedy' or approach could be used instead and that kind of keeps
in 'on topic'.

Have ideas for children with special needs if that's useful.

Best, Joy
http://www.homeopathicmateriamedica.com
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Shannon Nelson]

Hi Joy,

I'd love to hear your ideas for kids with special needs. (More and
more kids seem to have them these days!)

The question of when to give a remedy and when to try something else
(change in activity, or whatever) is one I find really
interesting--especially since my own experience with having my youngest
given a "clean bill of health" by our then-homeopath, who decided he
was simply "begging you for limits", or in other words, "just spoiled".

In *his* case the decision was premature (and wrong), because she
hadn't asked me questions about our home routines, discipline mthods,
or what limits we had *tried* to enforce, and so hadn't found out that
he would not *take* limits, but actually enjoyed them as an way to
start a fight with me. Medorrhinum made him able to *accept* limits.
(It's one of a small group under "desires to fight", as well as many
other rubrics applicableto him at the time). So--I think she had a
good idea (that not every complaint needs a remedy), but it's not
always cut-and-dried. (And yeah, he's [still] a bit "spoiled" too...
We're working on that! But now it is very workable, whereas then,
well... a whole different kettle of fish.)

Shannon

[Joy Lucas]

Dear Shannon, I think first of all sleeplessness needs to be defined.

Is it an inability to sleep at all
Is it a refusal to go to bed
Is it frequent waking
Is it waking too early
Is it extremely poor quality sleep such as due to restlessness or bad
dreams
Is it defined by sleep walking
Is it one child amongst others, an only child, all the children present
Is it emotional, physical or mental and how does this manifest itself
as a pattern throughout the times of sleeplessness, i.e. there are
often patterns evolving and the child repeats the same expression such
as crying, screaming, (fear) refusal to even try to sleep (some kind of
antagonism involved - diet or parenting), bad dreams (deeper fears) etc
How and when did the sleeplessness begin
Is the problem with the child, e.g. being bullied at home or school or
some other form of stress such as pain or physical issue, or is it with
the parent/s, siblings or ??
+ any other permutation.

Defining why a child cannot sleep is possibly half way to solving the
problem imo.

Then there are the common sense approaches and the more subtle methods
and finally the 'when all else fails and getting desperate' methods -
this latter including the need for homeopathy probably.

The common sense approaches would be to make sure that food isn't eaten
too near to bedtime; that any form of stimulation before bedtime is of
the appropriate nature (probably avoiding anything scary, keep it
gentle, loving, amusing and of a sharing nature). The type of bed the
child sleeps in might be wrong or uncomfortable; the room might not
feel good; the temperature of the room might be wrong; what the child
wears in bed might be uncomfortable. The home layout comes into
consideration - children like to be near their parents, either on the
same floor or above them, so that if parents sleep on a lower floor
this acts as a buffer in the child's mind. Children who sleep below
their parents often do not sleep well at all.

The light and air quality in a room at night is important. Children of
a young age are generally warm but poor sleep can be due to being too
cold or too hot. Dimmer switches can be very useful in creating a soft
atmosphere, too much light can be too stimulating, even a street lamp
can cause someone to wake often. The room should be quiet without any
distressing background noise, although some sound is often comforting.
'Companions' should always be encouraged as long as they are safe. Yes
I know some of this is really basic but if you have a child who cannot
sleep it needs to be stated.

More subtle methods would include getting the timing right when a child
should go to bed. Too early and they are bound to wake up, too late and
they lose sight of boundaries. Being forced to go to bed when you are
genuinely not tired is no fun so a fair amount of latitude should be
employed. One of the best ways is to create a very subtle count down
time in preparation for going to bed. Take lots of time over this and
share as much as possible - this can be chatting, stories, bathing,
cuddling, quiet games etc. With an older child the chatting is
invaluable as it might give an indication of the cause of the
sleeplessness. Maybe doing drawings together will also allow for some
expression to come out as an indication. I would also include these
last 2 in the desperate measures as well.

If you suspect that some vague physical sx are being expressed that are
really connected to emotional causes then sometimes massage is useful.
You can't always assume that a child will tell you why it can't sleep.
If in doubt, ask, talk to the child, even if the child is really young
this basic communication shouldn't be overlooked.

Desperate measures come into play when a family really cannot locate
the reason why a child isn't sleeping but often the parent/s need
outside help for this. There is always a reason for everything but one
can't always see it and this is why it is essential that a homeopath
delve into the family situation. All that you mention below is a
typical pitfall of a homeopath being somewhat judgemental. What might
emerge could be issues that can be cured homeopathically and at least
they would be identified as maintaining causes if there is no
willingness for the whole family to partake in the healing process. A
full case taking is a full case taking!

It seems silly to put off going to a homeopath if you are at the
desperate measures stage but sometimes the phase of insomnia is just
that, a passing phase that doesn't always need homeopathic
intervention.

Some parent/s won't opt for the sharing bed tactic because they fear it
will become habit forming and even harder to break so other means could
include an audio tape quietly offering soothing sounds or stories.
There are some amazing light works available that are also soft and
soothing and would be appropriate for night time use, there are beds
that rock electronically. These devices might be targeted for children
with extreme special needs as they might not be using a lot of energy
through the day and thus have little need for sleep at night (that in
itself being a maintaining cause that homeopathy might not be able to
deal with). These measures are also devised with a view towards the
parent/s being able to get sleep as well because an insomniac child
effects the whole family usually.

However there are always those children who haven't had enough
stimulation throughout the day and crave it at night (guess the miasm)
and some family's can cope with this and even encourage it - a shortish
length of time where the child gets up and out of bed, completes a task
and then is ok enough to go back to bed and sleep. If the needs are
extremely special, sometimes it is what you have to do. To be honest an
insomniac child IS a child with special needs, even if it is for just a
short stage within their life.

Hopefully one would seek homeopathic help when the situation becomes
inappropriate for all concerned and everything else has been tried.

Like you say, it is never that cut and dried. Best wishes, Joy

http://www.homeopathicmateriamedica.com
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