08/26/2026
“BUT HE’S NOT TIRED!”
If I had a dollar for every time a parent told me this…
Your child may look wide awake at bedtime and still desperately need sleep.
Sometimes “not tired” looks like:
Eyes wide open
Running around the house
Asking for one more snack
Suddenly needing to tell you EVERYTHING
Getting silly and hyper
Fighting pajamas
Asking for 47 questions at bedtime
Having a complete meltdown over something tiny
And parents naturally think:
“Clearly he isn’t tired yet. Maybe bedtime needs to be later.”
But sometimes the opposite is true.
Overtired children don’t always LOOK tired.
When a child becomes overtired, their body can actually become more alert, making it harder to settle down and fall asleep.
So if bedtime has become a nightly battle, don’t automatically assume your child needs a later bedtime.
The timing of sleep matters.
The sleep environment matters.
And HOW your child falls asleep matters.
Your child isn’t trying to make bedtime difficult.
If you’re exhausted from fighting bedtime every night, you don’t have to figure it out alone.
I help families create healthy sleep habits with a plan that’s tailored specifically to your child and your family.