1. Childhood Fatigue Has Many Causes
When your normally energetic child complains of feeling tired all the time, you may think she is coming down with a cold or the flu. Childhood fatigue, however, can be traced to a number of different causes, including stress, too little sleep, anemia caused by low dietary iron or, for girls, heavy menstrual flow. Less often, childhood fatigue may be caused by chronic illnesses or conditions such as a low-functioning thyroid gland or sleep that is interrupted by sleep apnea, a condition in which prolonged pauses in breathing occur during sleep.
2. Get a Proper Diagnosis
Often, a pediatrician can diagnose the cause of childhood fatigue. Be prepared to give a complete history, including when the fatigue started, what makes it worse, if your child has any allergies, if he snores or frequently wakes up at night, and if he is under any new stressors. Once you know the cause, treatment for childhood fatigue is often as simple as initiating an earlier bedtime or adding iron-rich foods to the diet. For more complicated causes of childhood fatigue such as sleep apnea, your pediatrician may refer you to a specialist.
3. Get Enough Sleep
Sleep needs vary from child to child. The key is determining how much sleep your child needs to prevent childhood fatigue. In general, children in elementary school require about 10 hours of sleep a night until they are 10 years old, when they may feel fine with just over 9 hours of sleep. Quiet routines before bedtime will help your child relax and unwind so that she is ready to go to sleep when it's time to turn out the lights. The nightly traditions of a warm bath, a cup of warm milk, a story and a lullaby are time-honored for a reason: they work.
4. Exercise Helps Prevent Childhood Fatigue
Have you ever felt too tired to move, but dragged yourself to the gym anyway and then felt completely refreshed and energized? The same is true for children. Just compare your child's behavior after an afternoon spent playing outside to an afternoon spent sitting in front of the television. Chances are he is happier after active play. So go for a walk, play a game of tag or ball, or go for a bike ride together.
5. A Balanced Diet Is Energizing
For childhood fatigue caused by low iron levels, a balanced diet with enough iron might be the only treatment your child needs. Foods that are high in iron include lean meats; nuts; eggs; green vegetables such as kale, spinach and broccoli; and for those children who haven't yet learned to like their vegetables, the perennial childhood favorite, raisins. Other dried fruits like apricots, dates and prunes also are rich in iron.
