Spinach for Breakfast
My thirteen-year-old son woke up tired the other morning. Really tired, like it took an army of elephants to drag him out of bed. He could barely hold himself up over his Cheerios and Ovaltine hot cocoa.
“I’m really tired,” he said. (As if I hadn’t clued in to that fact.)
“Did you get enough sleep?” I asked. I figured the answer was no. Just trying to walk him through some dad logic. (Do moms ask dumb questions like that, too?)
“Yeah,” he said. “I got ten hours.”
That seemed plenty. Though he did just start up fall soccer, so maybe between school and sports his body wasn’t yet used to the new routine. It responded by shutting down.
He couldn’t go to school like this. But he definitely was going to school. (And no, there was nothing stressing him out in any of his classes. Eighth grade is going great so far!)
“Did you eat any spinach last night?” I asked. We’d eaten grilled marinated chicken, brown rice, and spinach for dinner.
“No,” he said. (At least he’s honest.)
When I was in college, there was a several week stretch where no matter how much sleep I got, I still felt like a zombie. A buddy asked if I’d been eating my leafy greens. I hadn’t. As soon as I added vegetables back into my diet, my energy picked up. I figured the same might be true for my son.
“Eat some spinach for breakfast,” I said. “You’ll be like Popeye. It will wake you up in no time.”
He was a champ, and ate a small pile of spinach, washed it down with cocoa, then headed for school.
When he came home in the afternoon, I asked him how it worked.
“I woke up around fourth period,” he said.
Good enough!
I just hope his newfound energy was due to the spinach kicking in. I’d hate to find out he snuck off for a third period cup of coffee.
- Getting Teenagers to the Dinner Table
- How to Make Quaker Oatmeal
- Old Home Remedies
- Moist Banana Bread Recipe
- Why am I so Tired? My Kids Did All the Work
- Parenting is a Contact Sport
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Comment by Sandy
| September 3rd, 2009
Sounds like a perfectly normal 13 year old.
Sandy´s last blog ..Get Your Motor Runnin’
Comment by shirley
| September 3rd, 2009
My 16-year-old daughter complained over a period of time of being tired, and I finally took her to the doctor, who ran a battery of tests. It turned out her ferritin stores were low. She started taking iron a couple weeks ago. I’m guessing your son is just getting used to the new schedule, but fatigue isn’t something to ignore, in general. By the way, spinach has some iron…
Comment by T
| September 3rd, 2009
Hmmm… interesting. I never correlated leafy greens with energy. You might be on to something there, David.
Comment by QTMama
| September 3rd, 2009
Never even thought to correlate the two. Emilee simply will not eat a vegetable. Not one. And the kid NEVER runs out of energy! ;)
Comment by Just Me...
| September 3rd, 2009
Teenagers… They can sleep a dozen hours straight and still be tired.. Or sleep 4 hours and be lively!!
No telling about them.. :)
Just Me…´s last blog ..It’s Time….
Comment by MindyMom/Single Mom Says...
| September 3rd, 2009
I’m amazed at how much my teens can sleep. Don’t forget about what their bodies are going through during puberty. Of course vegatables are always good too!
MindyMom/Single Mom Says…´s last blog ..The Key to Successful Dating
Comment by Danielle
| September 3rd, 2009
My kid just wants hotdogs!
Danielle´s last blog ..Take it at Facebook value
Comment by Honey
| September 3rd, 2009
Since I’ve been on WW my veggie intake has almost tripled, and I feel awesome! I do miss the processed carbs…
My friend and her new baby are vegan (well, as soon as he’s off the breastmilk…) so it should never be a problem for them!
Comment by Laura
| September 3rd, 2009
For real? We dont each much green veggies at all!
Will see if I can try add more in -but for now I am getting some more coffee ;-p
Comment by krn
| September 3rd, 2009
Good suggestion, Dad’s. Glad it worked for him, though a small pile of spinach, with milk in his cereal and ovaltine…maybe the placebo effect? In any case, it is reasonable that growth and puberty combined with a new schedule may have contributed to him feeling “zapped” of energy. Sounds like a normal occassional happening for a teen to me!
Not to be all preachy, but if it becomes more than occassional, have him checked. But, I know you will do that already. You’re a rockin’ dad, after all~
Have a great holiday weekend and ummm….hope you get hugged by a lovely woman. (At least!) :)
Comment by MommaSunshine
| September 3rd, 2009
When I’m paying attention, my body will very specifically tell me what it needs. I find myself sometimes craving things like tomato juice, leafy greens like spinach, and even on occasion, red meat. Our bodies are smarter than we think! :)
Of course, my theory does nothing to explain my sometimes overwhelming chocolate cravings….. ;)
Comment by BigLittleWolf
| September 3rd, 2009
With girls that age, it could be iron. But with boys – if it’s nothing emotional – it’s probably that he’s GROWING.
Measure him.
Measure him again in a month.
When my boys would hit growth spurts, they were really tired in the morning, even after a good night’s sleep, and eating plenty. Yep, they wake up about 3rd or 4th period. Haven’t figured that one out yet though.
BigLittleWolf´s last blog ..Bette, Joan, Anne. Excedrin.
Comment by Cathouse Teri
| September 3rd, 2009
I’m with BLW. He’s probably having a growth spurt.
Cathouse Teri´s last blog ..Angels Can Fly…
Comment by loriann
| September 3rd, 2009
Well David,
You could start him off with a “Joe’s Special” one of my favorites: A little ground beef, spinach and egg ~ onion, bell pepper and mushrooms optional.
That being written ~ I vote for the growth spurt.
Comment by katherine.
| September 3rd, 2009
I forgot what I was going to say after reading loriann’s comment…I LOVE Joe’s Special. Original Joe’s in San Jose is a highly sentimental restaurant for me.
Although I am not so sure I would have cocoa with it…smile.
katherine.´s last blog ..Looking at the sky on Friday ~ The Boardwalk (12)
Comment by dadshouse
| September 3rd, 2009
Katherine – Bloody Mary, perhaps? (Doh!)
Comment by Andrea
| September 3rd, 2009
Your son is braver than me. I’ll eat some weird stuff for breakfast but I have to draw the line at spinach.
I’m glad it worked for him. Better double check there’s no espresso bar at school just in case.
Andrea´s last blog ..I’ve lost that creative feeling
Comment by CrazyGirl Nation | Advice for Crazy Girls and the People Who Love Us
| September 3rd, 2009
I’m no doctor (or parent), but it sounds like he might be anemic–or close to it. Maybe he needs more iron in his diet period.
CrazyGirl Nation | Advice for Crazy Girls and the People Who Love Us´s last blog ..The Many Sides of my Voice
Comment by Mel
| September 4th, 2009
Yeah, I agree with the previous comments. When I feel unmanageably tired like that, I eat a spoonful of molasses, for the iron. I don’t think it’s anything to be worried about.
Mel´s last blog ..9.3.09
Comment by Ness @ Drovers Run
| September 9th, 2009
Love the idea of that. I enjoy bizarre breakfasts, but usually I just resort to coffee! This could be SO much better.
Ness @ Drovers Run´s last blog ..09h09 09/09/2009