Your angelic child is suddenly irritable, overactive or demanding. You’ve checked and she’s not hungry, cold/hot, bored or wearing a soiled nappy. So what could it be? Chances are she’s overtired.
Small children show that they are tired through changes in their behaviour. Over time you will come to recognise your child’s cues. Look for your child’s “tired cues” and you can help her by reducing stimulation and start settling her before overtiredness sets in and that awful behaviour even begins!
Newborns
- A newborn baby will probably get overtired if she has been awake for more than 1½ hours.
- At 3-6 months your baby will be overtired after 1½-2½ hours awake.
Typical cues that your newborn is tired, she may:
- pull at her ears (this can also be a sign of sore ears)
- close her fists
- tuck her face into your body, a blanket or pillow
- flutter her eyelids or blink a lot
- have jerky arm and leg movements
- yawn
- have a worried look on her face
- arch backwards
- have difficulty focusing
- suck on her fingers
Babies and toddlers
- At 6-12 months your baby will be overtired after 2-3 hours awake.
- At 12-18 months your baby will be overtired if she misses out on her morning or afternoon sleep.
Typical cues that your baby or toddler is tired, she may be:
- clumsy
- clingy wanting to be in your arms
- grizzly
- prone to crying- cries more easily than normal
- demanding constant attention
- sick of her toys
- fussy with food.
If your child is showing signs of tiredness you can reduce stimulation by:
- taking her to her sleeping place
- putting toys and other distractions away
- talking quietly and soothingly
- closing curtains and blinds
- turning overhead lights off – use lamps if you need to
- playing music quietly – this will help cut down on background noise.
Quiet time is important
- Give your child some quiet time in the place where she will sleep.
- Calm her with a gentle cuddle or by reading her a story or singing a quiet song.
- Your child may only need a few minutes of quiet time before she is relaxed and ready to be put in bed. If your household is usually noisy and active, she may need some extra quiet time before she is ready for sleep.
Glossary: grizzling Fussing or crying a little; a tired baby may grizzle before going off to sleep, and this is different to the strenuous crying of a distressed baby. Many mothers note that their baby often sleeps better after being allowed to grizzle for a few minutes before dropping off to sleep!
I am a preschool and primary school teacher and mum to 3 children. I have been involved in education since 1997 and have trained in a variety of educational specialist areas. It is with this expertise that I write articles to help parents and educators provide quality learning experiences for the children in their care.
