Does anyone else have a low-energy child?

[Anonymous]

My boy has been low energy since he's been in utero. Slow to crawl and walk, slow to run and once he learned these things he wasn't inclined to do them for any sustained period of time. Now in school, he's conservative with his movement. You know those kids who need to run around with arms flailing to "burn off energy"? He's the opposite. He conserves his energy. Plus, every move he makes is deliberate and methodical -- there's never any jerk or jumpy motion just for motion's sake.

He likes to sit around and watch things, and he never runs to get someplace.

I read here constantly about parents who have high energy kids. anybody have a low energy kid?

[Anonymous]

I had a low energy boy, until we found out he had a rare syndrome. Once we treated that he became CRAZY. Poor guy was just trying to conserve energy to fight off chronic illness. Not saying your kid is sick (because you would know by now of course), but yes, I did have a low-energy boy.

[Anonymous]

I also have a almost 5 year old who is low energy. He gets tired before others and wants to sit down after running around for a while. He would rather sit and play in the sandbox at school than run and play like the other boys. Sometimes I wonder if its physical or its he is just lazy. I know exactly what you mean. Sometimes I wonder if its heriditary because I seem to be the same way. I always need to sit down. Sometimes I wonder if its something to do with blood pressure. I would love to know what the previous poster's diagnosis was. Her post was not very helpful. What does the Dr say about his energy level? I have not asked mine.

[Anonymous]

Low energy can be self-perpetuating. Regular exercise makes people more energetic, and lack of exercise can make you feel less energetic. Children who do not exercise enough are not building muscle strength. I have a couple of friends who regularly push their 3 and 4 year olds in strollers because the children complain of getting tired from walking. But, if they made the children walk more, they would build up stamina.
It could also be that the children have low muscle tone for some reason, and they avoid physical activity because they are not good at it.

[Anonymous]

Have you had him checked for an iron deficiency? I was very low energy like this as a child, come to find out that my grandmother told my parents to have an anemia test done, and the doctor said that I was so anemic he was shocked I was standing....

[Anonymous]

OP, there are a few kids at dd's preschool who seem to move less/slower than the other kids. (It is a coop so I am there a lot!). Anyway, they seem perfectly normal to me. Measuring level of energy is part of temperament, so its a range, right?

[Anonymous]

In our case it was also a physical problem having to do with a metabolic problem. My kid would actually talk about saving up energy for the end of the day. After treatment it was like a different kid. Our ped ran a basic metabolic panel including a carnitine panel and that was the first time abnormalities showed up. Any lab can do it, I think it cost us $30. Checking iron and thyroid are also great first steps. In my experience, peds are likely to say "some kids are like that", they need to be pushed to do further investigation. OP, are there any other little red flags? In my kid's case, sometimes there was more or less energy, more or less language, etc. As they get older/bigger, activity requires more energy, and as the neuro demands of school increase it can all snowball. Many conditions that impact energy can be effectively treated with great results. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

My little boy (now 5) was also like this. I was very worried about him actually. He tired easily. He would ride in the stroller while our 2-year old daughter walked no problem. He did not learn to jump until after 3 and had a lot of trouble wth stairs (still are not easy for him). Turned out he also had a condition, diagnosed at Childrens' , called Ehlers-Danlos which makes him kind of "floppy". His appears to be a mild case -- in some cases it can be severe. It did make me glad that, although on occasions tempted, I did not decide he was being "lazy" and force him to walk when he asked for the stroller. Doctor told us he will always tire more easily and we should be sensitive to it.

[Anonymous]

Earlier poster here, my child has PFAPA...You would KNOW something was wrong. However, looks like the above posters whos kids had other problems might worth be investigating.

[Anonymous]

my son is now 14, and often has no energy to do more than two things in one day. For example, if he works (2 hrs. on his feet) and rides his bike for more than half an hour, he may not be able to go to karate. He refuses to go to the saturday morning karate class because it is 1.5 hours, and he just can't make it through.

[Anonymous]

My dd is low energy and would rather do quiet, fine motor activities than gross motor activities. An OT diagnosed her with low tone, and after a few months of OT, she is much, much more active. Going to the playground still isn't her first choice activity, but around home she's more likely to want to run and climb than before.

[Anonymous]

I was also going to say it might be low muscle tone. Another thing is it might be sensory processing disorder (which includes low tone). You might want to have an eval by an OT just to be sure.

[Anonymous]

I was a low-energy child. I never saw Saturday morning cartoons because I slept in past noon every weekend. Looking back, it seems very likely that systemic yeast-overgrowth from too many rounds of antibiotics was interfering with my digestion and assimilation, sapping my energy, and contributing to my chronic respiratory allergies. Just recently, as an adult, I've cut out gluten and dairy and put myself on an anti-candida diet. I've got more energy and a more positive outlook than I ever thought possible for me. I wish I'd done it so much sooner. Perhaps investigating food sensitivities and/or candida might turn up something helpful?

[Anonymous]

no, but I wish I did

[Anonymous]

OP, it seems like a lot of the responses are from people whose low energy child had a health issue. I have a lower energy child without a health issue. She functions normal physically and has good muscle tone, but she is more of an observer. She is not inclined to wiggle and doesn't need to burn off steam like my older child. She hits milestones, but I am never sure how because she doesn't seem to "practice" lots of this stuff (she just does it one day, maybe from all the observing, I don't know). I think it is just her personality, she is also very easy going and content. She has been like this from in utero (I kept worrying something was wrong with her because she moved so much less than my older child). Since my oldest is on the high end of the energy spectrum, it is a nice change of pace to have a more mellow child.