Puberty- tired all the time

[pugz]

My 10 year old is always SO tired. Is this typical for kids that are gearing up for puberty? She has some early signs but wasn't sure if the fatigue is part of it too. She gets plenty of sleep, 8pm-7am every night. She doesn't seem to really have the ability to sleep in on weekends yet. 

[abs]

Yes I think so. DD is 12 and goes through periods of just being exhausted. I do plan on asking for bloodwork at her yearly appointment just to make sure she isn't anemic but I think it's pretty normal. She doesn't sleep in either.

[aprilsails]

I would get her checked for anemia. That’s the age where mine started becoming an issue. Is she also going through a growth spurt? My DD is younger but she gets very tired out when she is growing.

[AdaraMarie]

I have not noticed this in my kids.

[mrsGreeko]

I didn’t notice that in my kids. Extreme tiredness can be a symptom of type 1 diabetes, anemia, mono, depression, etc. it might be worth to check it out if it continues with a doctor.

[lucybrown]

Yes. Our doctor said puberty age kids can sleep as much as babies. My 11 yo tween easily sleeps 10-12 hours a night sometimes. And eats a ton too. It reminds me of the baby/toddler growth spurts.

[waverly]

When DS was tired all the time, I realized he was sneaking the iPad into his bedroom to play games until late at night.

Not to say it isn't a medical/ puberty reason, but I would rule out environmental things before going to the doctor.

[pugz]

She has gone through major growth spurts the last 6 months

[wanderingback]

How is your child 10?! That’s my only useful comment

[ssmjlm]

E will be 10 in April and hasn't shown any exhaustion outside of sleeping later sometimes on weekends. She is showing some other pre-puberty symptoms physically.

[krystee]

Jan 9, 2023 11:55:42 GMT -5 pugz said:

She has gone through major growth spurts the last 6 months

I remember when my brother shot up six inches in what seemed like no time, he was tired and achy all the time, and the doctor said he was feeling growing pains, which were making him feel that way. It is physically exhausting to stretch out that much so quickly! My other brother and I grew more gradually and never experienced that.

[lucybrown]

waverly makes another really good point. I've found my child reading after bedtime A LOT. God only knows how much sleep they're actually getting.

[abs]

Jan 9, 2023 15:49:06 GMT -5 lucybrown said:

waverly makes another really good point. I've found my child reading after bedtime A LOT. God only knows how much sleep they're actually getting.

Yeah.  Definitely part of it is DD has reached the stage of not being tired enough to actually go to sleep early but she has no ability to sleep in either.  A later bedtime actually helped.

[pugz]

she did try the reading after bedtime thing for a while but we caught her. Will need to do random checks again, lol.

[pugz]

Jan 9, 2023 12:33:19 GMT -5 wanderingback said:

How is your child 10?! That’s my only useful comment

I know!

[court26]

We are in the middle of this right now with DD and I did insist she have bloodwork done finally after 6-8 weeks of fatigue. She only has a mild Vitamin D deficiency that came up with the bloodwork which I know could be part of it, but it’s been so intense. The napping after school, the laying around, the missing her sports practices.

[aspentosh]

DD is almost 11 and we haven't been experiencing this. She does sleep in on weekends but she also stays up until 9:30 or 10 reading on those nights She's got physical symptoms and is eating a lot, so she has other symptoms.

[186momx]

DD is 11.5 and they are discussing puberty in health class at school. Being tired, not sleeping well, emotional are all things she came home the other day and told me were parts of puberty. She has been trying to stay up later and using puberty as an excuse. She still needs 11-12hrs of sleep to function well and can't sleep in at all.

[pugz]

thanks everyone. I'm going to add a multi vitamin to her diet and keep an eye on her sleep.

[kitty]

Jan 11, 2023 16:52:56 GMT -5 186momx said:

DD is 11.5 and they are discussing puberty in health class at school. Being tired, not sleeping well, emotional are all things she came home the other day and told me were parts of puberty. She has been trying to stay up later and using puberty as an excuse. She still needs 11-12hrs of sleep to function well and can't sleep in at all.

My 11.5 year old is exactly the same way and it's hard because she has more homework/studying than ever and moved up a level on swim team which means longer and more frequent weeknight practices. It also seems like it's assumed that since you are in middle school you can stay up/out later. For example, there's a ski club at her middle school on Fridays where after school they bus them to a small mountain about 50 minutes away but the bus doesn't get back to the school until 9pm. If she got home at 9:15, then had to shower and wind down, and then still woke up at 6am (since she can't sleep in) she would be barely functional so I had to tell her it wasn't an option.