To ask if your child gets tired easily?

[Dontknowwhatyoumean]

This is my first post but I’ve been a long time lurker.

Our five year old complains about being tired regularly. He often looks tired and has rings under his eyes.

He sleeps well - usually from 8/8:30 pm until 7/8 am - and is not busy with loads of activities. He’s in Y1 in school, doesn’t go to breakfast club and only goes to afterschool club three days a week. He doesn’t do any activities during the week, only swimming on Sunday afternoons. Our weekends are pretty chilled - easy morning watching telly and playing, lunch out, walk in a park (usually a 2/3 miles walk)

Should he be this tired all the time? Can this just be school? He seems to find school tiring at the moment, but I do suffer from anxiety so I worry that it’s something else? I’ll take him to the doctors if it carries on but just wondering whether this is pretty common?

A GP review and maybe looking at his diet wouldn’t hurt. Is he drinking enough? Much fresh air?

At five he’s still growing pretty fast and learning so much, if he’s naturally a bit slower being tired isn’t surprising really. Encouraging an earlier bedtime sounds like a plan but I have to say the less I do the tireder I am. I’m definitely not saying to chuck him into a load of clubs but getting him motivated to do something constructive for a bit might help. As will spring time hopefully.

5yr old reception year I.e. just started school - or 5 going on 6 in yr 1? I'd me more worried if hes yr 1 was school shouldnt be having so much of an impact now. That said my reception class - 5 yr old and his friends seem to have adjusted now.

If it's a suddenly brought on tiredness then definitely get him to the GP.

His diet is fine I think - today he had two weetabix and a slice of fruit loaf fir breakfast, apple mid morning, toasted pitta bread with tuna mayo and yoghurt for lunch, cupcake and houmous/breadsticks mid afternoon, and chicken pie, boiled potatoes and brocolli for tea... His appetite varies - sometimes he’s really hungry, sometimes he doesn’t eat much. But I guess that’s normal for a 5 year old? Maybe he needs to drink more fluids, we have to remind him to drink all the time ...

He’s a summer baby so 5 year old in Y1, turning 6 in July.

Pretty much everyone needs vitamin D supplements in the UK so it could easily be that unless you're giving him some.

You are probably right Cheshire. We are not giving him vitamin D supplements at the moment so I’ll buy some tomorrow x

His eating sounds fine but check if he is underweight.

Worth getting him checked out, but some kids just need more sleep then others - I've got a sleepy one. She's at the age now when people think I should be able to take her to evening events, and are quite scathing when I decline due to her bedtime. I know my child, she'd be a grumpy mess and I'd spend the whole time wrangling her. Not my idea of fun.

Thanks all, I’m going to get him checked out. I’ll also make sure that he goes to sleep early, and I’ll get him some vitamin D supplements.

i have 2 like this. I am pretty sure they are hypermobile as I am. I was quite worried for a spell but less so now. We give them rest time on the weekend and other times and it seems better now we know what we are dealing with.

You could try moving his bedtime forward slightly every week. My DS is in year 1 eats about the same as yours and does love sleep and will say he is tired at 6pm sometimes. But he goes to bed at 7pm and wakes at 7:30ish.

Could be allergies leading to apnea when he sleeps. Could also just be tiredness from school, some kids get more tired than others.