Why can't my nine-year old stay asleep? Every night, around 3 a.m., my son wakes up and can't get back to sleep. It takes at least an hour of fussing, crying and fighting before he finally succumbs. We have tried everything. Nothing to eat or drink after 6 p.m., melatonin at bedtime, warm milk, lots of exercise during the day, no TV, varying bedtime from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. etc. Additionally, he has been given many tools to try and soothe himself back to sleep: visualization of pleasant places, telling each part of his body to go to sleep, counting backwards, reading, more praying, positive thinking, deep breathing. No matter what we do or don't do, he still wakes up and can't get back to sleep on his own. This has been going on for over a month, since we have forbidden him to crawl into our bed with us. Admittedly, we made the mistake of "attachment parenting" that has been so popular for raising a "healthy" child. This included co-sleeping and attending to your child's every need.  This technique of parenting, which may be effective up until the age of two or three, is impossible to break. Days of clinginess and neediness have turned into years of difficulty, thus our problem.  He is currently getting professional help for what has been described as "anxiety" and oppositional defiance" disorders (both of which are likely the result of our parenting philosophy).  Please help, we need to undo the damage so we can all get a good night's sleep.  And yes, I did say nine years old!!!