Sleep in children and young people
When sleep stops coming easily.
Sleep is one of the things parents most often bring to us, and it usually arrives attached to something else. A 10-year-old whose worries wait for the bedroom light to go off. A 15-year-old who cannot fall asleep before two, or wake before nine.
What it can look like
How sleep difficulty tends to look
Most parents have tried a great deal before they reach us, and read a great deal too. These are the patterns we see most often. Each has its own logic, and each can be worked with.
Worry at lights out
The moment the light goes off, the thoughts arrive: tomorrow, a friendship, something a teacher said. This is often less a problem with sleep itself than a loss of trust in the space between being awake and being asleep.
Waking in the night
The child who wakes at three and cannot get back to sleep, with no nightmare to explain it. It may be the body leading here: a nervous system that has not yet learned to settle itself again, whatever woke the child.
When Monday is coming
Supper goes quiet, bedtime drags on, and sleep takes an age to arrive. Often the body knows the week ahead is hard before the child can say why.
The teenage slide
A teenager whose bedtime has drifted an hour later every few months. Part of it is biological, since adolescent body clocks do shift later; part may be avoidance, and part screens. It is worth knowing which is which before any new rules go on.
Bedtime as the only quiet
Some children’s worries surface only at bedtime, because it is the one quiet moment the day allows. That can be a sign the worry is bigger than sleep, and that the day itself is too full.
How we can help
What we can offer
Sleep can improve once what sits underneath it is understood. The support can be for your child, for you, or both.
For your child
Therapy, in school or online
One-to-one sessions for your child, usually in school during the school day, or online for older young people. We do not start with sleep hygiene. We start with what the body is doing, what the mind is doing, and what your family has already tried. Where a specialist sleep assessment is the right step, we will say so.
How therapy worksFor you
A parent consultation
When nights are hard, everyone in the house feels it. A consultation gives you room to think about what is happening and what might help, whether or not your child comes to therapy.
Parent consultationsTo read
The sleep shelf in The Parent Book
Chapters by our therapists, among them one on the hour before bed, with quick tips, things to do together, sheets to print, and the books, podcasts and films we recommend. Part of it is free to read and to print, including what to do first and the first chapter you open; the rest comes with a subscription.
Open the shelfWhen to get in touch
When to talk to us
Many sleep difficulties ease with time and a calmer routine; some do not. These are signs it may be worth talking to us.
- Sleep has been disrupted for more than three or four weeks, and is shaping the family week.
- The difficulty with sleep comes with low mood, withdrawal or new physical symptoms.
- School has noticed that your child is tired, distracted or finding it hard to engage.
- Bedtime has become the daily battle the whole family dreads.
- You have tried what you can, and would value a fresh pair of eyes.
Where there are physical symptoms, changes in eating or weight, or low mood that does not lift, please talk to your GP as well.
If you are unsure, a short email is the simplest place to start. Every enquiry is read personally, and we aim to reply within one working day.
If this is urgent
Kensington Square Therapy is not a crisis service. If you or your child is in immediate danger, call 999.
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If you need help right now
If you or your child is in immediate danger
999Call 999
If either you or your child is in a mental health crisis
NHS 111England, Scotland and Wales: call 111 and choose the mental-health option. Northern Ireland: call Lifeline on 0808 808 8000
If your child is under 19 and needs to talk to someone themselves
Childline0800 1111
If you are worried that a child is being harmed or is at risk
NSPCC Helpline0808 800 5000
If you would prefer to text rather than speak
ShoutText SHOUT to 85258
If you or someone you are worried about needs someone to talk to
Samaritans116 123
Begin
Not sure where to start?
Tell us a little about your child. We will listen first, then suggest what might fit, including whether we are the right people to help.