Dr. Dobson Answers Your Questions
Q. My 13-year-old daughter has become increasingly lazy in the past couple of years. She lies around the house and will sleep half a day on Saturday. She complains about being tired a lot. Is this typical of early adolescence? How should I deal with it?
It is not uncommon for boys and girls to experience fatigue during the puberty years.
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A. It is not uncommon for boys and girls to experience fatigue during the puberty years. Their physical resources are being invested in a rapid growth process during that time, leaving less energy for other activities. This period doesnt last long and is usually followed by the most energetic time of life.
I would suggest, first, that you schedule your daughter for a routine physical examination to rule out the possibility of a more serious explanation for her fatigue. If it does turn out to be a phenomenon of puberty, as I suspect, you should go with the flow. See that she gets plenty of rest and sleep. This need is often not met because teenagers feel that they shouldnt have to go to bed as early as they did when they were children. Therefore, they stay up too late and then drag through the next day in a state of exhaustion. Surprisingly, a 13- or 14-year-old actually needs more rest than when she was 9 or 10, simply because of growth acceleration.
In summary, your daughter is turning overnight from a girl into a woman. Some of the physical characteristics you are observing are part of the transformation. Do everything you can to facilitate it.
Dr. James Dobson
This article was adapted from Complete Marriage and Family Home Reference Guide by Dr. James Dobson with the permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Copyright 2000 by James Dobson, Inc. All rights reserved. International copyright secured.
