How do they react if they’ve not had enough sleep?

[Yessiricanboogiebutineedacertainsong]

If you have children, what is their behaviour like if they’ve lost sleep for a few days? I’m taking young-my Dd is four and an half and been awake with a bad cough for a few nights. When she’s lacking sleep, her behaviour is insane, so challenging and difficult. She’s been completely hyper, very annoying, not listening at all, following the dog, poking me etc. It’s like she can’t stop and such hard work.
Is this normal or is more going on?

*I’m talking young dcs

My 5 year is like this; we went on holiday and were letting her stay up later but after 2-3 days we had to make sure she went to bed earlier as her behaviour was awful

Yes tiredness makes children act crazy. It can take nights of good sleep to restore the balance. So do worms, whenever mine went through a naughty/not listening/whiny phase I used to worm them.

Even as a baby DS1 was always hyper and manic when tired and would wind himself up even more. He’s 5 now and is still the same, bouncing off the walls when he’s tired. DS2 is still a baby but he’s definitely the opposite and gets grumpy and short tempered when tired. This is easier to deal with I think.

Even after one bad night, 4yo DD is an arsehole. Just truly makes me want to put her in the wheelie bin.

When DD (just 5) hasn't had enough sleep she's a complete and utter twat. Completely the opposite of her usual lovely self!

Sounds normal. Need to add in tears and strops (generally like a furious teenager).

DD1 hyper emotional cries over nothing. Also grumpy and stroppy. DD2 wild. Hyperactive. Combative, sets out to wind anyone up and is aggressive and defiant

Yep, my almost 4.5yr old is exactly the same, its very frustrating!

You know the hyenas in the lion king? The one that doesn't talk it's tongue just lols about and it laughs hysterically,? Like that

Sounds pretty normal... DS(4.5) will cry over the smallest things, constantly demand things he knows he can't have (so he gets upset) and gets extremely angry, with all the concomitant delightful behaviour of kicking, biting, shouting etc. If he does have a temporary energy boost he will be completely hyper and just will not stop talking. This happens after just one bad night. It's the pits. I think they just don't have the ability to regulate their emotions/ the understanding to adjust to being overtired.

FWIW, my worst day after a bad night was virtually non-stop toddler-style tantrumming on a very hot day. He was obviously hot and extremely thirsty but refused outright to drink anything. I took them into the garden as I'd run out of ideas. He just ramped up the screaming. I then squirted water from a sports bottle into his mouth in a last-ditch attempt to get him to drink. Didn't work. Pretty sure that was the day I called the HV sobbing. It was fucking awful. You have my sympathies!

Oh god feel so relieved 🙈
She’s always been hard work when younger if she hadn’t slept as much, but I hadn’t noticed it for a while and has been insane, she literally wouldn’t stop and had a crazed look in her eyes!
We’ve been putting her to bed earlier and she’s been falling asleep but the cough keeps waking her up, she’s had medicine etc.
It starts even in the morning, this morning was pretty horrendous, she was running around and wouldn’t get dressed, we were late for Pre school…I was worried all day how she’d be and if she’d get in trouble, teacher said she was great 🤷🏻‍♀️She was ok when back for an hour or so…then it all started again and progressively worse until bedtime

😂 please tell me how you found this out because honestly I'm at my wits end and my dc gets a good solid 12 hours sleep!

Ooh, I did a course about this last week. It's because their bodies don't get enough of a hormone(or something, I was listening but have lost my notes 🤦🏻‍♀️). This means they lose their ability to regulate their emotions, they also can't understand the tiredness so over react to the feeling. Normal but horrible!!

I had to put my 4 yr old to bed at 6pm for about a week recently as it had just reached constant meltdown state every day. It worked well and she is a little love now and seems much calmer!

DC1 would be totally wired, hyper, hysterical and wouldn't be able to get to sleep - such a cruel irony!

DC2 had no problem at all. Would get tired, then sleep, then feel better. Able to nap whenever needed to "catch up", or would lie in the next morning. A rare and amazing ability especially in a young child.

My 10 year old is still like this :(