Is Your Preteen Sleeping Too Much? When Parents Should Worry

In hindsight, it's ironic how when kids are very little parents often look forward to those days when kids will sleep through the night, and then later to that point when kids will actually sleep past the crack of dawn. As parents, we often look forward to those days when our kids will sleep in and really embrace what weekend sleeping should be like. Yet when kids actually do start sleeping more, it can be almost disconcerting at times.

As kids get older, and especially when they hit those preteen years and the changes of puberty start taking hold, kids just cannot seem to get enough sleep. It may be harder for you to wake them in the morning, and you may even catch them taking a nap in their room when you thought they were watching TV, playing video games, and more. Many parents of preteens have walked in on such a scene and were instantly worried that their child may be coming down with a bug or that something more serious was wrong. So what exactly is going on with all of this sleep?

Growth and Development. The fact is that the human body releases a large portion of human growth hormone while in sleep mode. Further, kids this age are going through a lot of growth and development changes. During puberty, it's common for kids to seemingly grow inches overnight, and so they do need some extra sleep before and during these times.

Playing Catch Up. In addition to this, many kids this age just simply do not get enough sleep at night. You may wonder how this can possibly be since your child seems to sleep all of the time. Yet as almost-adult-sized as they are, these are still kids, and they do need more sleep than adults need. Many times kids just crash - and crash hard - because they are exhausted from school, friend drama, athletics, and more. Further, it's not entirely uncommon for a preteen to stay up past bedtime texting, playing video games, or more when you think he or she is sleeping. At some point, this will all catch up with your child, and you may catch him or her getting that nap or sleeping a few hours longer on the weekend than normal.

When to Be Concerned. Of course, excessive fatigue and sleepiness as well as a lack of desire to get out bed are all warning signs for more serious issues, too, including depression, anemia, and so many other things. If you have noticed other worrisome signs such as behavior changes or other physical health signs, it may be time to schedule a well-check with your child's doctor. Your doctor may very well tell you that it's all perfectly normal, but it's far better to raise a concern to the doctor earlier rather than later.

Here are a few other articles written by this author:

How Positive is Your Parenting?
Helping Your Kids Through Fights with Friends
Kids and Friend Drama: When to Step In