A Connection Between "Overtired" and Misbehavior?

To me bad behavior means earlier bedtime, if 8 isnt working try 7:30
I recommend you work on his bedtime routine. Cut out any sugary snacks after dinner, (no caffeine or chocolate in the afternoon) Bath or shower at 6:50 -7:00 sharp then read books together in a very quiet room. then lay down in bed next to him for ten minutes and chat quietly then be out of there at 8:00 sharp. Give him anything he might ask for stuffed animal, water bottle, night light, Then do what super nanny recommends, if he gets up do not talk to him or engage in any way just quietly walk him back to bed. Can you make it darker in his bedroom in the AM? try hanging beach towels on windows and if it helps you can buy dark shades.

It sounds like you need an earlier bed time. If kids are overtired, they can take longer to settle down and fall asleep. Some kids are also early risers, no matter what time they go to bed. Keeping him up later would likely cause more problems because chances are he will still wake up at the same time. Try moving bedtime 1/2 an hour earlier. You may be surprised, it sure helped us.

Hi K.!
How does he sleep at night?? My son I thought for sure was going to be ADHD classified, was a terror even though I knew he was a good kid, and zero attention span making it frustrating for everyone... Slowly noticed that he snored like a truck driver, even snored a little while awake, and sounded nasally when he spoke... mentioned all of this to the pediatrician.. we went and saw an ENT against the pediatricians advice, and low and behold HUGE adenoids... poor kid, I guess a common misdiagnosis with children that have ADHD is in fact they have poor sleep making them very over tired and act out.. Not saying your child has the same thing my son did, but once the adenoids were out he was a different child! So see if he is sleeping well which like you said, overtired=acting out... Sorry for the rant :) Good Luck!

I totally agree that tiredness can lead to misbehavior. I experience it a lot with my own kids. BUT my kids still get consequences for the bad behavior. I don't tolerate it. I may be slightly easier on them, esp. if it is my fault that they were up too late but I am still firm. There have been times where we just skipped dinner, bath, etc. and put a kid in bed. They were miserable and so was everyone else. I can count on one hand how many times I have done that but there's no point when everything is a struggle. It is hard not to give them the excuse of, well he is acting like a maniac because he is tired and hold back on consequences. I have done that too and it just got worse.

Being overtired can make matters worse so keeping him up isn't a good idea.

I definitely agree with the others that there may be an issue with his quality of sleep. Snoring is a big indicator that there could be a problem.

7:00 am is a normal time for a child to wake up. And if he is getting to sleep at 8, that would be enough sleep for a 5 yr-old. Most 5 year-olds don't nap. I would not keep him up later.

I would, as others have suggested, check on his sleep. Is he snoring, or restless. He might not be sleeping well, and this is something a doctor could check out (adnoids, sleep apnea are two possibilities).

I think you also might find that going to Kindergarten could help him. Sometimes the late afternoon/evening crankies can be tiredness, but they could be from boredom.

Our kindergarten did not give homework, so unless you know that yours does, I wouldn't worry about that. And, since he will be an afternoon student, that could be done in the morning, for this school year.

He is at the age he doesn't really need naps. He should be doing better at controlling himself. I think he may be getting tired at that time though.

I am going to recommend you read Love and Logic parenting books. The videos are really good if you can find someone teaching the classes. If this was happening at my table I would tell the child that they had to leave the table and when they could sit and eat with utensils they could come back. You might need to find a way of making him stay away, maybe making him go to his room? Then make sure everyone has a really fun time sharing their day and enjoying their dinner. He can eat when everyone else is finished by himself. That should only take a few days/meals. There are many good things you can incorporate in your discipline for him in the books.

He is at a stage of development that changes from being a pre-schooler to a schoolager kid. You should see a vast difference in him at the end of the school year or some time during the 1st grade. Most theorists note this stage and call it lots of different things but it's basically just a stage where the brain takes over and opens up for knowledge to enter in and a lot of behaviors and things go by the wayside. If you can make it that long with using some love and logic then you should see a much different kid soon.

I'm sure there is a connection-my question is why can't he seem to settle down. Even kids who are overtired can usually get into a 'zone' of doing something calming. Maybe he's overstimulated? What is his pre-bedtime routine?

I would talk to your ped-maybe there is more going on-5 year olds don't generally need naps-and shouldn't get that worked up over settling down. Maybe it's anxiety over starting K-5?

My son is the same way, if he is tired or hungry (and watch out if it's both) the littlest thing can set him off. He's still 11 and still has this problem. Over the years you come to recognize what could be wrong when this happens and I'll say to him, "I know you're hungry/tired and you need to get yourself under control and if you don't then you will go to your room until you do." This may have to happen a couple of times because as soon as I let him out, he may start right back in. It's nothing for him to end up in his room for 15-20 min. and then I'll ask, "are you finished and going to sit and read, brush your teeth, do your homework, etc, etc." He will say yes and we move on.

He is a kids that doesn't always realize when he's that tired or hungry and so he doesn't realize what the problem is until I say it and then he may say, yes I'm starving or yes I'm tired. Especially if they're tired a little 15-20 min rest in their room will help rejuvenate them and they need to understand that just because they are tired/hungry that this type of behavior is not acceptable.

I wonder if a weighted blanket would help him fall asleep faster? Some people swear by them.
http://www.beanblanket.com/?gclid=CJqK7NHd26oCFQrf4AodZlU49g
There are other companies out there too so you can compare, if you're interested.
Best wishes =o)

Consider having him evaluated. My friends' daughter had sleep problems and after having her adenoids removed she sleeps better and her behavior has improved.

Sometimes I also make my DD have "quiet time" in her room when I sense she is tired - no "nap" but quiet time. If she sleeps, great. If not, I had 30 minutes to myself. It also helps if the house is BORING during that time. No TVs on, no computers (except for my work), no music, etc. BORING, even if she is awake.

Yes. Definite connection.

7:00 is a normal wakeup and 8PM a normal bedtime for a 5 year old. This is a normal amount of sleep, he should not be sleeping til 9 am and the doctor should not drug him. 11 hours of sleep in the day is typical for this age. If it's not enough, start giving him an early dinner and put him to bed an hour earlier, see what happens. You may find that he sleeps til 7:00 still and wont' be so badly behaved during the day. However, it is also possible that this behavior is not entirely related to being overtired, if he is extremely defiant and physically violent for a period of hours. I'd have the doctor take a look at him in case of something else going on. You also don't mention how you are punishing him for behaving badly.

Have you tried melatonin or some of the other homeopathic sleep aids targeted to kids? We've used a couple, with varying degrees of success. My DD has a similar problem; no matter what time she goes to bed she is up at 5:30 or 6 am. We finally got a break this summer when we traveled from TX to CA, the time change seemed to reset her clock and now she'll sleep till 7:15 most days. When she was younger we used the sleep aids and they helped a bit, I really think she's just outgrowing it (she's 7) so your son might outgrow it with time too.