Your Child is Less Active Than Normal

How can you tell if your child is less active than normal?

As a parent, you are the expert on your child and you are best equipped to notice if something just isn’t right. You can usually tell if your child isn’t behaving normally, or sometimes you can just sense that something’s not right. He may not have his usual energy, mood, or curiosity. Perhaps he is less active than other days; or has a smaller appetite than normal. Maybe he is less talkative, or complains about feeling “yucky.”

Common Illnesses That Can Cause Your Child to Be Less Active 

• Infection 

Infection is the most common cause of less active behavior. When this is the case, you need to make sure that the your child does not have one of the more serious infections, like meningitis, sepsis, epiglottitis, pneumonia and urinary tract infection.  

•  Dehydration 

Dehydration can cause a child to become less active. If you can, give your child fluids to drink, but this may be difficult if your child is vomiting or has a sore throat. Also, if your child has diarrhea and is vomiting, he may not be able to drink enough with the fluid loss. 

• Poisoning

Poisoning can also cause a child to be less active. In these cases, there will often signs that your child has ingested something harmful, such as medicines, poisonous plants, or household cleansers. Even over-the-counter medicines, such as acetaminophen, aspirin, or vitamins can be very dangerous for children, if taken in large doses.

If you suspect that your child has been poisoned, call your local Poison Control Center immediately!

• Allergic Reaction

If your child has had an allergic reaction to something, it may cause him to become less active. With an allergic reaction, your child will often have additional symptoms such as rashes, swelling to the face, breathing difficulties or nausea.

• Psychological Conditions

Psychological illnesses, such as depression, anxiety, or eating disorders, can also cause a child to be less active.

• Other Conditions

Other illnesses that can cause your child to be less active include chronic diseases, anemia or surgical conditions, such as appendicitis.

Home treatment

1. If your child is less active than normal, try to identify the reason for this.
2. Take the child's temperature to check whether he has a fever, since fever, even without other symptoms, can cause a child to be less active. For infants, you can take your child's temperature rectally.
3. If your child has a fever, try giving him some fever-reducing medicine to see whether he responds to this. His condition may improve simply when the fever is treated with medication. However, a response to fever-reducing medication does NOT rule out the possibility of a serious infection. You will need to continue to monitor your child and his fever.
4. Give your child some liquids to drink if you think he is becoming dehydrated. Children who have been vomiting should drink small quantities of a balanced electrolyte solution (such as Pedialyte) to avoid further vomiting.
5. If you are worried about your child and you cannot establish why your child's is less active than normal, talk to your doctor.

When to seek medical advice

Sometimes the way your child behaves or how he responds to things in his environment is different than normal. He may not have his usual energy, mood, or curiosity. However, there are several signs to look for that will tell you to call your doctor or 911 immediately.

See the doctor immediately or call 911 if:

• Your child is unable to respond to verbal commands or is acting in a bizarre manner. 
• Your child has a stiff neck, rashes, unexplained pains or high fever. 
• Your child appears to be dehydrated and is not getting enough fluid. Either diarrhea or vomiting can rapidly deplete the fluids in a small child. 
• The child's general condition deteriorates. This also applies if a doctor has already seen the child earlier on in the development of the illness. In the early phase of even a serious illness, a child may be acting normally. Therefore, do not hesitate to contact the doctor again if you believe your child has become more ill.