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3 YO complains of being tired....
DD gave up the nap almost a year ago. By that I mean it is impossible to get her down for a nap anymore but she will fall asleep in the car if we are away during her "old nap time". I can then carry her in the house and she will sleep for 2 hours.
Occasionally she says "I'm tired". She normally goes to bed at 8:30 and sleeps until 8.
So here is the question...should I be worried that she sometimes complains of being tired? Do other children this age complain of the same thing? I am a natural worrier and was wondering if I should have her iron level checked, etc.
On the occasion she complains of feeling tired I can usally explain it away due to a restless sleep, late night or waking early on the day she stays with Grandma.
Any suggestions?
Re: 3 YO complains of being tired....
Maybe push her bedtime back earlier and see if that helps.
Even if she won't nap, maybe just have quiet time during her old nap time. Put her in her room, keep it dim. She needs to stay in bed. She can play quietly in bed, but she needs to stay there.
This. ?
I do this with my bonus kids when they are sick or obviously tired, but are fighting in. ?I tell them that they need quiet time -- they may read or play in their beds, but they have to stay there for an hour. ?They have always fallen asleep, because their bodies will take over from their over-stimulated brains.?
I also think a check-up sounds reasonable. ?A change in diet or eating patterns (more frequent, smaller meals) might be necessary to give her a more solid energy source during the day.
Finally, kids go through weird growth patterns. ?I have been able to see a pattern in my bonus daughter, now 6. ?She is a petite child -- very slender. ?She is also a self-modulating eater...she eats until she is full and that is it. ?But when she is about to go through a growth spurt, she will eat like a horse -- to the point that you can't figure out how her body can hold all the food. ?She is hungry and as long as what she is feasting on is healthy (the protein source at dinner or veggies as a snack) I have no problems with it. ?My new phrase when she tells me she wants more food is "You are obviously eating for two more inches!"
?
this!
My 3 Y.O goes to sleep anywhere between 6:30 and 7:30. ?6:30 is a bit early but on those really active days she needs the extra sleep...however she is definitely asleep by 7:30 every night. ?DD doesn't nap anymore, if she did she wouldn't go to sleep until 10pm.
Complaining of being tired? If it happened often enough for me to note it, I'd probably call the dr. Fatigue is a sign of a number of ailments, some serious; and I wouldn't think this was completely normal.
Not saying she's sick; it's just something I'd have checked out.
Ditto susiederkins.
Both my kids napped part of the way through their 3 y/o year, but not every day. They would go through ups and downs when they seemed to need more sleep.
"Quiet time" in the afternoon may be a good plan until your DD is really ready to go all day.
I learned from my 3 YO that "I'm tired" actually means "I'm bored." I have had this same conversation with other moms. We are on the every other day nap schedule.
I would agree to this. a 3 YO may sometimes have the difficulty of distinguishing getting tired from being bored. maybe it's just boredom she feels. try to give her much attention but not to the point of spoiling her.
My 2.5 year old kept saying this and she is refusing naps lately also. We just realized the other day that she is repeating what me and DH say (b.c we're up at night with our 7 wk old). I had been saying that my foot hurt from a splinter and she'd started going on about that.
of course it may be something else with yours, but just sayin