Am I being neurotic? Son seems 'tired'

[madamegazelleslover]

My just three year old son sleeps well - still has a nap in the day. He's active, goes out every day somewhere to burn off energy. he's little and quite pale but I feel like he's tired. He does yawn a fair bit, and his eyes look a little shadowy.

DH says he's absolutely fine - and it's not like he's lying down all day - but I wondered whether I should take him to the doctor? And what the doctor would do/say etc if there were no other symptoms?

DH also says maybe he's going through growing phase...?

Thanks

Does he eat a good range of foods? Any chance he might be anaemic etc? It could be worth giving him a children's multi-vitamin if he's a fussy eater to make sure he's not deficient in anything obvious.

GPs are unlikely to run any blood tests etc without anything concrete to go on, as it can be traumatic for a young child to have blood taken.

My DS2 (8) is always tired and achey, weighs more than my other DCs despite eating similar and had always been a great sleeper! Thyroid issues run in my family so we got his blood tested. Even though its a bit low the GP was reluctant to prescribe medication for him, insisting it was normal (I know the levels and it was right at the bottom of normal).

I would definitely keep an eye on him, but don't necessarily expect your GP to be as concerned as you are without something more significant to go on.

Being tired and pale would make me try to boost his iron intake.

Does he eat iron-rich foods already?

My daughter used to come out of school looking very pale and tired and was sent home quite often when she was about 5. She did also sometimes have a cough but it always went before I took her to the doctor. She had an xray as my mil said it reminded her of my husband who had asthma as a child. X ray showed asthma although she never wheezed. She used inhalers for a couple of years after that but seems to have grown out of it.

I think he's got a good diet and eats well but maybe I do need to boost his iron. DH is very reluctant to give him multi vits.

Any food suggestions for max iron? I can think of dried apricots and red meat. He eats vegetables but doesn't like leafy greens

The tip I was given was give iron-rich foods alongside vitamin C rich foods and separate times of day from drinks of milk or milky dishes.

before i opened this i thought, i bet he is 4. as 4 year olds very often seem to get tired
but your son is 3 and he still naps. perhaps he needs to drop the nap?

orange juice assists in the uptake of iron, so orange juice with his meal of meat and other iron rich foods. i think lots of cereals are fortified with iron

You're saying he yawns but nothing else behavioural that indicates he is tired.

If he needs to run round to burn off energy I would say he is fine. Children who are unwell don't have energy to burn off.

My three year old is very similar - pale with dark shadows under his eyes, yawns and says he is tired a lot but gets out for a good run around every day. Seems to need a nap and sleeps well at night but is about to start pre-school in the afternoons right at nap time! He is a fussy eater though and drinks quite a bit of milk but we don't usually have fresh orange juice in so I probably need to look at boosting his iron. He won't have leafy green veg, much red meat or dried apricots though - anyone have any other suggestions? I am cautious Re vitamins as iron supplements have made me very sick in the past - but it turned out I didn't need them, whereas if he does then they shouldn't have an adverse effect?

OP, I think they are growing and learning such a lot that being tired is normal - also my son doesn't pace himself at all so he will charge around until exhausted and then flake out! A couple of times recently though he has asked to stay home and watch telly instead of going out but I think he doesn't like this weather and is also tired from all the excitement of Christmas. It's difficult to tell though and I have felt worried too but not like there is anything very concrete to base it on.

I would boast his iron intake and the amount of sunlight he gets - hard I know!

I don't see any harm in taking him to the GP just to get him checked if you are really worried.

jelly it doesn't have to be orange juice just vit C rich foods , so potatoes, cauliflower, peppers, sliced kiwi or apple - whatever he likes! Replacing pasta and rice with potato is a simple improvement to up vit C.

For my kids lamb was their favourite red meat. The dark meat off poultry has more iron, so chicken thigh is better than breast. Beans and peas have iron in. As does molasses/dark treacle if you are into baking.

Thank you, that is really helpful!

Another thing for young ones who don't like the texture of meat is that they may happily eat mash with gravy. Good luck!

My ds used to yawn a lot- after a while I realized that it was a "habit" he used to cover feeling shy or unsure of himself- he often had a yawning fit when introduced to a new situation- it was as if he used it to give himself a chance to think.

He grew out of it by the time he was about 6, I think.