Sleepy, grumpy kids...

Thank G-d I don't have kids . he whinning would get on my last nerve. I only get grumpy when I am angry. When I'm tired, I am just tired. As for hungry, I either eat or wait. I'm used to waiting to eat.As a child I didn't get grumpy , I just wouldn't go to sleep. My mom said she would say, you have to go to bed because I'm tired. My thoughts were , "if you are tired Mommy , then go to bed." One night she did. She went to bd while my dad and i listened to music most of the night. I was born at 1am and I am still a night owl!

Young children cry and whine when they are sleepy because they are not fully developed verbal human beings. They do not have the developed language to express to you what they are feeling. All they know is that they feel bad. I think this is a good time to say to your kids, "I understand that you are tired and that is why you feel grumpy or sad". If you acknowledge your child's emotions and facilitate them through this time they will grow into adults that can self soothe themselves when times get tough. Take this opportunity to teach them a coping skill when they get this way. Maybe teach them to look at a book to calm down or you could read to them I found that using the same book each time reinforces what you are teaching them. They learn that when I get sleepy I get my book, look at it and calm myself. This gets them into good habits at a young age and teaches them that they can control a situation themselves but you have to model this for them and be their facilitator!

Small children get grumpy when they are sleepy because they don't realize why they don't feel like doing what they want to do. As they get a little older, they may realize that they are sleepy but they don't want to give in and miss something. This frustrates them and makes them grumpy.

Are you kidding?! You don't want to be anywhere NEAR me when I'm tired... and that also includes first thing in the morning! I don't know how my husband deals with me... but he must just understand. He'll call in the morning to make sure I'm up... the phone rings, I roll over and answer "yeah" he says "hey sweetie! Just making sure you're up for work" You'd think I'd say something nice like "yes I am thank you. love you" but I don't. I say something more like "how could I not be up? The alarms going off every 5 minutes and then you're effing calling in between while I'm trying to get a few more minutes of sleep!" and then I hang up. But I always call back after a little bit. haha My daughter is EXTREMELY whiny/crying whatever when she's tired... just, the littlest things make her scream at the top of her lungs! OH MY!

Hey bounce, I've always figured it was because kids don't have the capacity to handle frustration when they are distracted by hunger or being sleepy. Nor the maturity to recognize that their frustration comes from one or the other. I still have one whiner at home when he gets sleepy..we avoid the bedtime melt down routine by putting him to bed an hour before we want him to sleep and allowing him to read for that time, usually he is asleep before lights out. I'm lucky..I myself am rarely grumpy and when I am it tends to be related to injuries and or a shortage of goals rather than lack of sleep or food.

I have 3 young kids, and I can totally understand what you mean, my kids are bears when they are tired! they usually need about 12 hours of sleep which is recommended for young preschool aged children so I guess its their bodies way of telling us that they need more.... I wish I could ge 12 hours... I would be happy with 6!

Hi there bounce. Well i don't have kids, but i have noticed that kids (especially babies) get grumpy when they are hungry or sleepy. I have noticed this may happen to grown people as well. My girlfriend gets grumpy if she is sleepy for example, and her grandmother, who otherwise is a remarkable women who you can talk to all the time, gets really irritated if she is too hungry or too sleepy.

Hi bounce, I agree as my son gets horrid when he's over tired, but its the only time. I can always recognise the signs. He doesn't get grumpy when hungry, he gets demanding, and wants it now. The tired thing I can control by making sure he sleeps at the right time and gets enough sleep. If we are going to be out late I try to get him to sleep in the car then he won't be foul later, but he refuses to take a siesta in the summer.

Haha, when I was a kid, I thought kids are,by rights, always grumpy when sleepy. Now, when I'm older, I'm still grumpy. So I guess, it is just a human natural trait. We get defensive and angry during our weakest moments, and sleepy, hungry, wounded...those are the times where we are at the short end of the stick.

Not only kids, I'm like this too. I guess kids tend to be grumpy when sleepy because they still don't know how to express themselves. They don't recognize yet the feeling that you get when you get sleepy.