help with child tiredness?

[MyDeftSheep]

Hi!

First-time poster, so please go easy and no judging!!

My daughter is 10; she absolutely loves playing football and trains twice a week, as well as during lunch at school. Some nights after training, we get home late, meaning by the time she has a shower and dinner (she doesn't have before as I don't want her running around after a meal) it can sometimes be 10pm before she's sleeping. The trouble is she needs soooo much sleep to function, and she is always so tired in the mornings after the nights of training, which I feel is now affecting her mentally as well as physically, it's affecting her in school and also in her relationships as she is always so grumpy! I wake her up at the very last minute that I need to for her to still have enough time to get ready and so we're not rushing, so she is having as long a lie-in as is possible!

I am not sure what else I can do to make sure she has a longer sleep or feel more awake in the mornings other than stop her playing so she can have an earlier night which I absolutely do not want to do because she loves it so much and is good at it, and I do feel it's important to have sports as part of their life.

Can anyone suggest anything I can do differently or try that could help? I was thinking is there maybe a vitamin we could be trying that helps with tiredness? She already takes a multivit in the mornings and I have ordered magnesium gummies for bedtime but I fear these may make mornings worse? Has anyone tried these? Does anyone know of anything else?

All suggestions welcome as I really am at my wits end!!!

Thanks in advance,

A very stressed mum :) xx

Change clubs to one on a different day / at an earlier time.

Cooked dinner at school so she just needs a sandwich before training. Then a bowl of cereal/toast/banana before bed. Or snack on the way and a picnic tea in the car on the way back.

I expect a heavy tummy is not helping her to get to sleep quickly and easily.

You need to adjust her mealtimes so that she is eating much earlier and getting to bed earlier.

What time are you getting home? What time is training?

I’d be looking to change the times of the football, thst is far too late: no supplement can help if she simply going to bed too late.

I find it surprising that a 10yo's training goes on so late that she can't get to bed before 10pm.

I suspect she doesn't need soooo much sleep to function she just needs adequate sleep for her age.

Agree with the others. Find a club that doesn't train so late, & eat earlier.
If training is say 7-8pm then eat at 5 that gives plenty of digestion time. If training is 6-7 then eat on way home maybe? She showers whilst you cook something quick? If training is 8pm-9pm that's ridiculously late for her age.

Training ends at 830, we're home nearer 9, so as above by the time she eats and showers etc this is why she's in bed so late, as I also don't want to give her dinner and then send her straight to bed as that's also not fair.

I also work til 5 so on training days we're not home til 530 and leave at 630 hence why she doesn't always have dinner before going. On the odd day I finish earlier or am off we do have an early dinner as in straight after school. However this just isn't always possible.

We do sometimes eat on the way home but I also don't want to be spending money every week that I don't need to be.

Thanks.

She doesn't have a school meal she has a packed lunch, and does only have snacks (including sandwhich etc) before football. This is why I make dinner for after football so shes still having a hot meal. It's never anything large always just

I suppose she doesnt need a full dinner and can just be picky like you say! Thats a good idea i'll maybe start doing that. Thanks!

Well yeah, this is the point of the question, it isn't possible while she goes to training and other than stop that, I'm not sure how both those things are possible.

Hence the reason for the post.

Thanks

You'll notice my post asked for no judgment, as | was merely asking for advice.

You're passive aggressive response was really not needed.

I know my child, and I know she needs a lot of sleep or she struggles. Again, was asking for advice, not someone to tell me I'm wrong about my child's needs.

Thanks for your response.

@MyDeftSheep Sorry didn't mean to be unhelpful. All I meant was 10pm is very late for a 10yo and she isn't particularly unusual in being over tired if that's when she is getting to sleep.
Hopefully you can find a way to make things work better.

This isn't rocket science really is it

How do I get my child in bed earlier?? Hmm, let's see......

No one said it was rocket science.

Literally no need.

We have this once a week and they are always tired the day after. Get in 5.30, out to club 6.30 and get back 8.30.

We stopped putting so much pressure on the meal times, before club it’s what ever we can get our hands on (sandwiches / crisps / apples), then once we get in it’s crumpets / cereal anything quick and simple. Shower straight after and trying to get into bed by 9-15.

We have just accepted that we eat quick simple food and not a cooked meal. Sometimes I’ve put on the slow cooker to make a spag bol so it’s ready as soon as we get in 5.30. But it’s remembering and having the time!

Yes it is. I have a very sporty child and she has a hot lunch at school and then sandwiches, banana etc straight after school and before training but is able to drag out what’s packed in the food bag over the course of the evening (with hot soup etc from a flask on the colder days). On the odd occasion she is still hungry when we get home, she has a very quickly cooked pizza, jacket potato or toast.

It’s just a case of changing the day around so a packed lunch is eaten after school and a hot meal at lunchtime. However, if she doesn’t like school lunches, she will be fine with two cold meals.

Yeah I think maybe I do put the pressure on making sure she’s having a proper meal and should just stick to snacks for those days, which is what we do before hand anyway so maybe just cut out hot meals after!

I do try with the slow cooker as well but like you say it’s easy to forget.

Think if anything this post has made me realise I’m putting too much pressure on lol!

Thanks for your help. ☺️

I know I was just meaning if there was maybe something that could help with the tiredness was all.

I'd work at feeding her at 5:30. Have food in the fridge that just needs microwaving (stew / spag bol / lasagne -- whatever you eat) that you make another time and is sitting in the fridge waiting for her. I am a hungry person and need to eat as soon as I am in the house so am well trained at making sure there is food ready for me to eat within 5 minutes of walking in the door. Then when home straight into bath / shower then bed.

Also: my DDs (late teens) suffer from tiredness. I am assuming your DD is not having periods yet, but it is worth watching out for iron levels. Both of my girls need supplementing iron; one of them did even before she started her periods. However, neither of them are good eaters and aren't spontaneously hugely hungry so eating enough altogether is challenging. I would start with more sleep, though, as above.

Spend a couple of hours at the weekend making some meals that can be frozen in portions, take them out of the freezer in the morning, in the microwave as soon as you get in the door at 5.30.

my sporty DS could not function without proper food, so that's what I do

If you’re home at 5:30 and leave at 6:30 that should be enough time to heat and eat something. Maybe prep it the night before - a bolognese or similar. Then cook pasta, heat sauce and eat.

If you genuinely have an hour in the house before you need to leave then that is enough time to feed her, but it does need some organisation.

Batch cooking meals you can just heat up, slow cooker or something quick like pasta or my Dc quite often have pizza or fish fingers night on swimming club night and then DH and I eat dinner later.

For example when I make spaghetti bolognaise I usually make at least double and then next time I just have to cook the pasta and defrost the sauce, so it can easily be on the table within 20 minutes. Stir fry is fast and you could pre chop the veg if you wanted to. Stew in the slow cooker and then you could serve with frozen mash

We have similar. We do food before training, so something quick n easy but filling- premade pasta neal/ jacketspud etc. Then after training, a quick 5 min shower, crumpets etc and bed. Try to do a 9:30pm bed. Should make a big difference.

Batch cook so you can microwave something at 5.30 then she just needs a snack in the car on the way home and a shower then bed.

Yeah she hasn't started yet but I feel it wont be long. That's a good point, I never even thought about iron actually, but it's something I struggled with when younger, so maybe worth thinking about this too. Thanks for your help x