Started school and exhausted

[Lozzalou9191]

Thinking this is the right section to post this in!

My DC (4yr) started school in September and is so tired. Up to the point of starting school he would still nap given half the chance although more often than not wouldn’t.
his bedtime is 6:30 as has always been the case but am now finding he’s zonked out by 6:15 and is begging to lie down from the minute I pick him up at 3. He has always been an early riser- between 5:30-6:30 (later bedtimes don’t influence this so we’ve kept bedtime 6:30 since he was tiny). It’s also meaning he’s often too tired to eat all his dinner which I know doesn’t help.
he was going to nursery 8-6 twice a week so perhaps naively I didn’t think he’d struggle so much starting school as the days were shorter.
He is just being so grumpy (which he always is when he’s tired!) and I’m finding the things he’s previously enjoyed e.g soft play on a weekend he just can’t be bothered to do.
He seems to absolutely love school and has made lots of friends but the teacher told me today he’s been quite grumpy- usually the grumpiness is reserved for us so he must be exhausted!
I know it’s still early days, but it just feels like every time I’m with him I’m getting the bad side of him which is fine but I don’t want other people to have to put up with it too!
Can anyone advise on things to help? If there even is anything I can do, I’m just wondering if there’s something I’m not thinking of!

When is he 5? You can do part time till the term after fifth birthday and you get to decide what days and times and the school have no choice but to allow it

It's quite normal.
Give him his dinner earlier if you can. He can always have a snack at bedtime if he is hungry again.
Keep things relaxed at home after school - don't worry about clubs/classes for the first term. Have quieter weekends too if you can.
Get to half term when he can have a real rest, but be prepared for the exhaustion to ramp up again before Christmas as they have extra things to cope with - nativity etc as well as the excitement.

My DD started school at 4 (July birthday). If I remember correctly school finished at 4pm. She would fall asleep on the way home in the car. I could undress her ready for bed, pop her on the loo and she would sleep until about 5am when she would get up, I would bath her and give her a cooked breakfast ready for the next day. Eventually she stayed awake a little later but still 6.30pm bed.

Mine are the same. Youngest is a summer baby so only turned 3 a couple of months ago but is in the school nursery class in the mornings, followed by wrap-around care until the end of the school day. When I pick him up at 3:15pm he’s tired, and has even fallen asleep in the car on the way home a few times. He’s grouchy after school and more prone to tantrums due to tiredness.

I feed him as soon as we get home, I’ve stocked up / prepped things that I can serve in 10 minutes or less. By 4pm he’s usually finished his tea, then we do bath and pyjamas. After that he can have a bit of play time, but if he looks tired then it’s ok to go to bed as I know he’s been fed.

His bedtime has moved from 7pm before September, to anywhere between 5pm - 6pm now. He falls asleep much quicker too.

Eldest is the same having just started secondary, she looks so tired when she gets home, so again we eat early so that she can have an early night if needed, although she does do sports a few evenings per week.

Just move everything earlier. Dinner at 4:30pm, bath at 5pm, tucked up at 5:30pm.

Let the weekends be chill time, there's no requirement to go to softplay. Just watch a movie together or do something soothing like Lego or colouring.

It's all normal though, schools just tiring for them on every level.

Bless him. Mine were the same .

Thank you so much! He’s a January baby so in the middle of the year more or less.
will dial everything back and not panic if he’s sleeping early. Just missing my sweet boy!

Could you work on him sleeping in a bit later in the morning? Does he have a gro clock? You can use this is help him stay in bed until a bit later