Child Always Tired

I would talk to her doctor. Have her tested for Diabetes. Also what is her diet like? Is she getting enough protein, fruit, veggies, Dairy etc. Has anything changed.. is she swimming, running outside more?
It could be nothing ,it could be diet, it could be almost anything.

Good luck

I too am gluten free, and when I eat gluten I too get exhausted. That and processed food.

Well, it could be nothing or something. Some kids just need a lot of uninterrupted sleep. I definitely think you should check with her Dr, to be sure.

Does she have food allergies. I have issues with gluten, and that describes how I have felt. My sister was diagnosed with celiac, and she had problems since she was a child with chronic exhaustion. Not anymore, since she was diagnosed. There are also things like Lupus, Lyme Disease, Diabetes, and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

I feel exhausted when I eat processed foods or lots of red meat. When my diet is poor (it hasn't been for some time) I feel like I am deathly exhausted.

I might sound like a broken record here, but I will repeat my suggestion that I have posted many times before. I think it applies here.

Make an appointment with your child's doctor, but BEFORE the appointment, like 2 weeks or 10 days or a week (don't schedule an appointment for the next day - give yourself at least a week): start a journal.

Make several columns on a sheet of paper. Document each day in categories: your child's food that she ate and how much and at what time; the time she lay down for a 'nap' and how long that lasted; the time she went to bed and the time she woke up; and her behavior during the day (tantrums, complaining, saying she's tired, etc.). And when the undesirable behavior occurs, note what was happening. Was she being asked to do a chore? Or did she complain of being tired even when the suggested activity was a pleasant one, or something that she enjoys?

You many notice a pattern, or your doctor may notice a pattern or clues.

I have a child with a severe sleep disorder (called Non-24 Hour Circadian Rhythm Disorder, which is an autonomic disorder), who previously had 3 forms of Lyme co-infectant diseases, and who is too fatigued to literally function. She attends online school from home. I also have an older child who was a very typical, healthy child. He too would complain about being tired, but only when asked to take the trash out. Then friends would call and suggest a 10 mile hike in the mountains and he was all gung-ho for that! So that's "selective fatigue" and a bogus teen-age excuse, which of course I didn't fall for. But with my other child with the true diagnosable medical issues, it doesn't matter what the activity is. We tried taking her to Sea World, thinking maybe that getting out and having a little fun would cheer her up, and maybe she would enjoy that. However, instead of enjoying the park, she asked if she could just stay at the hotel and sleep and told me and my husband to go to Sea World without her. And this was with plenty of rest beforehand - we didn't rush the trip and gave her a whole day and night to rest and sleep before the Sea World day. She's been too tired to attend parties, family events, and sometimes sleeps more than 18 hours. Then when she wakes up she manages to crawl (sometimes literally) to the couch and needs to rest.

She has had at least 5 sleep tests of different types, some lasting one night and some lasting 3 weeks (she wore a high-tech monitor that was no bigger than a watch called an Actigraphy Unit on her wrist that monitored temperature, heart rate and sleep cycles). She failed them all. We are trying different medications and light box therapy and her doctor is wonderful.

But I sympathize with you. My child also has several other medical issues, but I really feel that along with her dietary requirements, medications, seemingly-constant medical appointments, illnesses, treatments and other problems, that the sleep issue and having a person with a true sleep disorder in the household is the most draining and frustrating for me. I know she's exhausted and it's real. But I feel like I spend a significant part of my day working around and with her unpredictable sleep habits. Planning appointments, going on errands --- it's so hard. Since she's now over 18 I got a power of attorney because trying to wake her up to answer the phone when a doctor calls, or going to pick up a document, or doing business is almost impossible, since she's only awake and alert for a couple of hours at the most in the early evening, or at 3 in the morning. Well, the world doesn't operate then! The DMV and the pharmacy and the library have daytime hours and a person with a sleep disorder does not!

So please start keeping a record of everything, and be precise. Don't write "snack". Write "1 apple and a cheese stick" or whatever. Don't write "woke up early". Write "woke up at 5:47 am". Don't write "whined". Write "was told to go outside to play but cried and said she was too tired" and note the time of day that occurred, or "was asked to put dirty clothes in hamper and whined and complained" and note the time of day. Write down your questions, your thoughts, your ideas, and tell the doctor's assistant when you make the appointment that you want time to talk, not just to have her temperature taken and a quick look at her throat, for example.

Don't give up if you think she is truly tired, and if you get a dismissal from the doctor, find another one. I was told by a school counselor that all teens are tired and to learn about a little thing called "a curfew". And this was after I presented doctor's letters explaining my daughter's fatigue and other diagnoses and after explaining that my daughter did not leave the home or even her bedroom for days and days at a time. So you might meet some resistance, or skepticism, or even criticism, but if you keep searching, you will find help and encouragement.

Webmd says a 4 year old should be getting 10-12 hours of sleep each night.

However - that's 10-12 UNINTERRUPTED hours of sleep, which it sounds like your daughter is not getting???? If she goes RIGHT to sleep at 8:30 and wakes up at 6 that's 9.5 hours.
6:30 on the couch / move to bed / wake at 6am is NOT good sleep. That will actually backfire and cause her to get LESS quality sleep because her REM cycles are messed up. So..... first and foremost stop the evening couch nap.

She may be one of those kids that needs the 12 hours of uninterrupted sleep per night.

I suppose it's possible she's found her holy grail of trantrums and this is the one that's effective..... but by 4 my daughter had kind of chilled out.

until you can get train your 2 year old to not be disruptive, can you seperate them? I would work on getting the 2 year old to not wake everyone up. It can be done....but it takes a lot of discipline and patients and work on your end.

http://www.webmd.com/parenting/guide/sleep-children

Put the kids to bed at the same time, 7:30. Tell the 4 yr old she has to have quiet time every day from 2-4, set a timer. She can't get up until the timer goes off. She will probably fall asleep most days.

Her tiredness could be caused my many things. She could be going through a growth spurt. My kids always had huge appetites and slept a lot when they hit a growth spurt. She could have allergies

She may not be sleeping well even though she is in bed 9 + hours. Noises from outside, of breathing difficulties from allergies or something like that could be interupting her sleep. I'm thinking like sleep apena where the person particially wakens to breath but not enough to realize they are awake. Anyway this broken sleep can impair a person the same way 2-3 drinks can impair a person.

Just chiming in to say, I also think you should put in a call to the pediatrician's office. Don't feel bad about not looking into it before, just look into it now, and then you won't have to feel bad about waiting any longer -- if that makes any sense.

One possibility that immediately occurred to me was Lyme disease, seeing as you're a fellow Northeasterner. But it could be any number of things (or it could be nothing medical). But before you try to figure it out from a discipline standpoint, rule out a medical origin first.

Honestly, take her to your pediatrician. Tell the pediatrician about the always tired and the crankies. It is more important for you to make sure there is not a medical reason for this before you work on the emotional issues. My daughter had developed allergies that made her like that at 4. She ended up taking two 24 hour allergy medicines 12 hours apart. I'm not saying that your kiddo has that, just that it's important to make sure the reason is not a medical one.

Get her checked for anemia - that is pretty common. My 3.5 yr old is often tired during the day due to pollen allergies. Now we have smoke from wildfires which affect both of us like allergies. We can't win!

Another mom mentioned this, but have her iron levels checked. Being anemic off and on my whole life, I can tell you that this does make children and adults very tired. I don't think it would hurt to visit the ped to have her checked out.

She needs a check up to make sure she is not coming down with something,

I am assuming you cannot let them sleep in separate rooms?

Does the 4 year old get a good nap?

Vitamins each day?

Food allergy?

She needs active play 2 times a day.. for at least an hour and a half. 2 hours would be best.

Odd thought, have you checked her head for a tick?

It won't hurt to talk to her pediatrician and it will ease your mind.

If I were you, since you roughly what time the baby wakes up (& she still naps), I would sneak in quietly and sneak out the baby BEFORE she wakes up naturally and that way the oldest can sleep in and wake up naturally on her own time, maybe that would help? You never know, might be worth a try??

I know the young kids DO require at least 12 hours, of not more of sleep so I wouldn't be too worried!

The waking up on her own might just be what she needs to not feel tired and not be grouchy throughout the day, I would absolutely try it!! Especially since you know what time the baby gets up!! Just sneak in and swoop her up and go snuggle on the couch and maybe she won't be loud and wake up big sister!!! :)

Does she eat well?/ Could also be she might be slightly anemic...my middle son had some of the most wicked tantrums, and restless sleep....and turns out he had a good case of iron deficiency anemia! Probably worth a trip to the pediatrician just to rule out anything else, at the very least give you some type of comfort in knowing you just have to figure out a sleep routine that suits everyone! Good Luck :)

How are her tonsils?
Does she snore?
It could be the quality of sleep she's getting is not good enough.
My son's tonsils were HUGE and became an obstruction (they were not infected).
He snored like a warthog and constantly had dark circles under his eyes no matter how much sleep he got.
Once the tonsils / adenoids were out, he slept SO much better (plus he could eat, drink and swallow).
Our son napped till he was 7 yrs old (at 4 and 6 and 8 he grew 4 inches each year - he had enormous growth spurts) so he needed that sleep.
With the tonsils gone the dark circles disappeared and he was a much happier more easy going kid.
Have your 4 yr olds thyroid checked out at the Dr.
Hypothyroid will make you tired no matter how much sleep you get.
If the Dr can find no reason for it, then teach the 2 yr old to respect when others are sleeping - she can come quietly to you or play quietly somewhere where she won't wake her sister.
When ever your 4 yr old complains she's tired, tell her to go lie down and take a nap instead of complaining.
The whining would get me down after awhile.
"You're tired - what do you want me to do about it? I can't fix it. You can fix it by taking a nap. You can go to your bed anytime you want, so if you are tired, just tell me you are going to go lie down so I know where you are.".

Hi, M.,

As we all know, each child is going to be different. Here's my experience with sleep and my kiddos. My 5.5 yr old has got to have at least 11 hours of uninterrupted sleep every night AND usually will take a 2 hour nap (minimum) during the day. Some days he is too wound up for a nap, and he is CRANKY and a little mean by about 6:00pm on the days that he didn't get that afternoon nap. He had afternoon preschool this year, and I would joke to my husband that I could always tell the days he was a little more ornery at school, because those were the days that he would literally fall asleep in his car seat on the 2 mile drive home. Next year should be interesting with full day kindergarten. :)

My newly turned 3 year old is generally the last child to sleep. There are times when she is singing in her bed 2 hours after bedtime (usually bedtime for us is around 8 to 8:30ish...so sometimes 10:00 and she's still awake). She wakes up fine in the morning (usually no later than 7:30am), and she very much resists her afternoon nap. If I can get her to sleep, then she'll sleep for a couple of hours, but more often than not, she sings the entire time and won't go to sleep.

I often think that the two children's sleep schedules should be completely opposite based on their ages! :)

I would work really hard to protect your 4 yr old's sleep time. Do your best to make it uninterrupted if at all possible. I have always found that a child who is allowed to wake up on his/her own is a much happier child. I can understand that this isn't always possible, but try to do this whenever you can. Our 5.5 yr old is often the last person awake in the house. It's okay...We get the 3 yr old ready first, and wait until the absolute last minute to wake the 5 yr old. We also take steps the night before to make the morning go fast and smooth (like picking out the day's outfit together). He wakes up, goes potty, brushes his teeth, puts on his outfit, and we go (he eats breakfast at his morning daycare; although, that will change next year with full day kinder). Don't be afraid to put your 4 yr old to bed at 7pm on nights when she seems especially irritable. If your 4 yr old needs a nap during the day, but won't take one, then encourage quiet time reading books in bed. Sometimes they'll fall asleep on their own. Other times, they'll just read the whole time, but it will still be a relaxing activity.

As for your 2 yr old, train her not to wake anyone in the house. I would suggest having some books by her bed, and instructing her to look at books quietly until everyone else wakes up. I was surprised at how well this worked for us!

One final note...All of these suggestions are made with the assumption that there are no other medical concerns that are evident. If you are thinking that there might be other things going on, then make sure to check with her pediatrician. If she checks out fine, though, then know that her sleeping patterns sound a lot like my 5 yr old son's. As a side note, My cousin's 7 yr old daughter was sleeping all the time, drinking lots of fluids, etc., and it ended up being diabetes. No one else in our entire family tree has diabetes. She is now doing much better now that she has been diagnosed.

I believe sleep is cumulative and as someone who needs a lot of sleep, I don't automatically think your daughter needs to see a dr but just needs more sleep. Lots and lots of kids sleep 12 hours a night regularly. She's not typically getting that. Why don't you put her to bed the same time as the 2 year old?... And one night of good sleep doens't always fix things - especially for kids - bc sleep is cumulative. 10 hours is too little for many 4 year olds. my kids have never been big sleepers, particularly the older one, but I think even she at 4 years got more than 10 hours. I'd make sure she gets 12 hours for 5 to 7 night straight and if that doesn't help, then see a doctor. I have friends who are triathletes and their kids sleep 12 hours a day at ages 5 and 7. Same with some other friends. (I mention the triathlete part bc I figure sleep might be somewhat hereditary and neither of these parents are big sleepers like I am.)