Scratch her back.
By tamirs
@tamirs (1807)
Philippines
December 1, 2011 7:47am CST
Done tucking my daughter to bed.
I always have a hard time getting her to sleep.She has this rituals that i can't understand sometimes..
My arms and hands are always tired when it is time for my daughters sleeping time.Why?I am always asked to scratch her back for her to be able to get that sleep she wanted. :-(
If i won't do it,she really wont be able to sleep.Or if she did,it will take us 3 to 4 hours waiting.And that really makes me wonder..
Anyone who has rituals just to get to sleep??
6 people like this
16 responses
@jaiho2009 (39140)
• Philippines
2 Dec 11
Oh dear, this reminds me of my youngest son.
he has this habit when he was a baby, until he turns 2 yrs old.
I need to scratch his back or tap his bottom while singing his favorite song
@jazel_juan (15745)
• Philippines
2 Dec 11
Tamirs, she will eventually outgrow it.. they often do. My nephew who is now 8 used to sleep with his mickey mouse stuffed toy and he cannot sleep without chewing its ears! But he eventually outgrown it and is now sleeping without it.
@neelia_lyn (2003)
• Philippines
1 Dec 11
My daughter is like that, too. She's already 7. She always had aching feet and legs even when she was younger. Got me worried but I've read so many times that it's part of their growing. Her legs and feet ached especially during the night and that's the reason I massaged her. It has become a habit or ritual because she couldn't sleep if her legs and feet are not massaged (even if they aren't aching anymore). I massage her feet for 30 minutes or so until she's sound asleep. Like you, my hands get tired during sleeping time. Made me wonder, too, why and how long will the routine go.
@tamirs (1807)
• Philippines
1 Dec 11
You know what Neelia, my daughter feels exactly what your daughter feels on her feet.Are you sure she is alright?Because my daughter was not.
My daughter since two years old always feels pain in her legs.We didn't take it seriously but there came a time that she always wants her feet massage everyday so we decided to take her to her pedia for check up.
Pedia took some test and ask us to have second opinion,my daughter suffers from rheumatism and blood infection on her legs down to her feet.We had 3 opinions because these,according to doctors may lead to heart disease.She took medicines and until now she is taking supplemental meds for her rheumatism.The infection is gone but doctors take blood sample every six months to make sure the infection isn't back..
i don't mean to scare you,just want to tell you this so you have time to think things out. :-D
@neelia_lyn (2003)
• Philippines
2 Dec 11
That's what I'm scared of, Tamirs. We've been to the pediatrician 4x this year because of her tonsillitis. Doc said it might be related to the legs/feet pains so she had my daughter do a blood test to rule out rheumatoid arthritis and it turned out ok, just a bit anemic. The three follow up checkups were tonsillitis again, and if it frequently reoccurs then there would be a complication. Doc only prescribed pain reliever, anti inflammatory and antibiotics no further tests. She's okay now except that the legs/feet pains sometimes occur and yes, you are right, we should seek other doctor's opinions.
By the way, how old is your daughter now? How long has she been going to the doc? I hope she's doing okay now. Children are so delicate it hurts us as parents when they get sick of something.
Thank you so much for telling me. This thing has been one of my many worries but I'm praying that she will completely recover.
@tamirs (1807)
• Philippines
2 Dec 11
She is 7 now.We started on her medicines three years ago..
You better be careful,i'm not scaring you but my daughter has tonsillitis also,she was thought not to have sweets,cold drinks,ice creams and too much emotion.. That goes directly to her heart.And yes,all of that is connected to her legs..
They get blood samples to her every month and that last for a year but the medication is still on going..Just for the maintenance.She is doing good now,thanks be to HIM.We just need to be more careful.
@myfb2009 (8296)
• Malaysia
6 Dec 11
Hi Tamirs, so far my child don't have this type of weird habit. As when my son was still a baby, he wants me to carry and sing kid's songs. When he is nearly 2 years old, i taught him to hug bolster to sleep. Now, whenever he want to sleep, he will just need to hug his beloved bolster to sleep. I hope you will find another alternative way, to get your child to sleep, so your hands won't feels tired.
@myfb2009 (8296)
• Malaysia
7 Dec 11
Tamirs, indeed it is an easy way to take care your kid, if they are able to adopt this habit. Only, it will need time to practice and teach your kid to adopt this habit. Wish you success....
Wow, seems not easy to hire your service as a babysitter. Indeed, your service sounds too costly to me...
Wow, seems not easy to hire your service as a babysitter. Indeed, your service sounds too costly to me...
@MaryLynn321 (2680)
• United States
4 Dec 11
Is this something you started with her when she was younger? If so, it is something that was soothing to her and helped her to sleep, so it is difficult for her to sleep without the back scratching. Maybe try shortening the length of the back scratching a little each day. See if this helps. Or maybe try start mixing up a few different things like reading a story to her till she falls asleep, sing a song, etc.
We didn't have any rituals when the kids were little. We just got them ready for bed and then tucked them in and closed the door until they fell asleep, once they were asleep we opened their doors.
Good luck
@MaryLynn321 (2680)
• United States
4 Dec 11
Did your parents maybe scratch her back and get her started with this nightly habit?
Maybe letting her fall asleep watching TV once in awhile too. It doesn't hurt to give a few things a try. You can always ask your husband to scratch her back if your hands and arms are tired. Just to give you a break.
Or you could tell her that Mommie's arms and hands hurt could we not scratch so long tonight. She might totally understand.
@jaiho2009 (39140)
• Philippines
2 Dec 11
sids,
that's not a ritual my dear...
that's habitual
so, next time, try to sleep when you are not sleepy then, that would become a ritual
@khare_1005 (1310)
• India
3 Dec 11
my niece has the same habit and my sister in law has to do the same as you before her 7 year old goes to sleep. my little doll is still 20 months old now. but i have to press her legs and feet to make her go to sleep. she really gets tired running around the house all the time
@3SnuggleBunnies (16374)
• United States
5 Dec 11
My kids are similar. However, my hubby scared the oldest when she was a toddler w/ a book "there's an alligator under my bed" and she's scared to sleep alone. So I'd sit or lay w/ them till they fell asleep, but then I got pg w/ my 3rd and fell asleep w/ them. So now if I leave their room and lay w/ my hubby the oldest will crawl into our beds making it impossible to feel comfortable and not cramped while you sleep. So I've just been used to staying with them in their bed otherwise I don't get any sleep and if I don't get any sleep you have a very cranky Mommy to deal with!
@red_amethyst (3518)
• Philippines
2 Dec 11
Hello tamirs,
I know those kind of sleeping rituals. I remember my son, when he was younger he likes his head being touched while he is trying to sleep and it should continue until he falls asleep. But good thing it last long, he can now sleep without touching his head. But one ritual that he has is laughing before sleeping, though its not on a daily basis. There would just be a time when he wants to laugh and laugh and later on he is sleeping already. it's either we talk about different things and he would laugh at it or we would tickle each other.
Have a great day ahead of you and have fun mylotting!
@jazel_juan (15745)
• Philippines
2 Dec 11
Maybe when she was little, you do that to her..of course they acquire such "rituals" through you as well..maybe when she was a bit younger you were doing that during her nap time so she acquired it..
My kids never really had any kind of rituals.. they would just lie there and be able to sleep after i tell them stories or after reading a book..they got used to it because thats what i did when they were little.. 
@bingskee (5234)
• Philippines
1 Dec 11
oh, that. i have two kids. they both have different rituals. daughter will not go to sleep when the cradle is not rocked hard. son will not go to sleep when i do not sing a song for him. but 4 hours! 
that is truly a feat. maybe you should try finding the manner of scratching that could speed the sleeping process.
that is truly a feat. maybe you should try finding the manner of scratching that could speed the sleeping process. @Dkprincess6 (88)
• United States
2 Dec 11
My son has rituals too. We have to do "knuckles" and "high-fives", and we have to give him "tickle kisses." After that we have to do the "metal point", and "devil's horns." Then he needs hugs. After that, he will finally settle down and go to sleep. Rituals like that, though, make kids feel safe and loved. Don't you think that making your daughter happy is worth the tired arms and hands?
@airkulet (2700)
• Philippines
1 Dec 11
My son has this pillow that he needs to touch it or in other words scratching his hand to the pillow, and when the time that the pillow need to be laundry, he really can't sleep because his hands needs that pillow in order to scratch his hand on it in the corner.
I am also wandering if why our children are like this? Seems annoying for us as a parent but for them it is important things to do, maybe the world has been getting crazy everyday.
@enelym001 (8322)
• Philippines
1 Dec 11
I've no kid yet.. but my friend's daughter who's turning 3 this month has the habit of jumping on the bed endlessly, laughing so hard even when there's nothing to laugh about... then when she's tired you're just gonna see her sleeping so well. My friend says her daughter used to be awake even in the late night so it's really hard for her as well to sleep coz she has to wait until her baby gets tired and fall asleep.
@mr_pearl (5018)
• India
2 Dec 11
Hi... This is quite new to me. And its a cute habit... My nephew, when he was small, would never sleep without he had his thumb in his mouth, we all found it cute... But it is good to reduce it...we worked on him and got his habit off... I would recommend the same for your kids...
I have no rituals, and never had any. I'd always be so tired, as a kid, after playing cricket for hours, that I'd simply go off to sleep. Now, I just want my ceiling fan turned ON, no more requirements..
@nezavisima (7408)
• Bulgaria
1 Dec 11
my children have different rituals.
one my son likes to hug his favorite toys with them to sleep.
while the other likes to delve into my hair and hug it to sleep.
I think every child has a habit just because it feels so good and is quiet.
Thank you for discussion.
nice day!
