Why children misbehave when they are tired?

Being tired is a feeling we often experience. When we do certain activities – physical or mental – over a period of time, or even after experiencing intense emotional states, we feel tired, perhaps even exhausted.

We could define fatigue as a lack of strength after physical, intellectual or emotional work. Boredom, unhappiness, disappointment, weariness, tedium or annoyance can also leave us exhausted.

In any case, fatigue has curious effects on our behaviour, resulting in greater difficulty maintaining self-control.

This is very perceptible in children, because when they are tired, either after strenuous activity or as a result of boredom or disappointment, they tend to behave in ways that annoy us. They tend to “misbehave”. But why is this?

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