Melatonin for Kids Sleeping Probs

[Christmasfairy07]

Has anyone got experience of this? DD10 is finding it so hard to get to sleep & at worst it’s the early hours before she drops off. We had tantrums & tears tonight when her tablet was taken off her ( she was supposed to be only listening to music but it was too much of a temptation) so we’ll try meditation CDs, audio books etc but I was wondering if melatonin works for everyone?

www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/may/29/melatonin-prescribed-children-fashionable-treatment-sleep-experts-warn

I wouldn't.

Try no screens for a few hours before bed.
Music can go on a small mp3 player.

Mine don't sleep.
I know it's a struggle.
It's likely they have that particular trait from me as I have autism.

I wouldn't want to risk upsetting their ability to self regulate or even disrupt puberty.

Also it can sometimes be things like anxiety.
10 minutes every day with your full attention listening to her can be good.
Regular exercise.
Warm baths.
Good sleep hygiene like a cup of chamomile tea and a bedtime story or whatever works.

We use it. It’s the difference between having a normal life, and not! It only gets them to sleep, it doesn’t sedate. Our paediatrician recommended it.

You seriously want to drug your child rather than parent effectively and get them into a reasonable bedtime routine?
Get rid of screens after 6pm. Limit to an hour or so a day. Get them exercising instead. Lavender pillow spray. Gentle music such as Tchaikovsky at bedtime. No nonsense and ignore tantrums.

You need to exercise much better sleep hygiene with her before you jump to drugs.

You’re getting some harsh replies here.

I am a parent of a child with autism who doesn’t sleep. He once went 20 hours straight screaming as a young baby - even now he is 6 he never sleeps more than 3 hours in a row. We give him melatonin every night and have done since he was 3 and it does help to get him off to sleep. It doesn’t keep him asleep but it definitely helps overall.

TONS of people with children with severe sleep issues due to whatever reason use melatonin successfully and safely, with no ill effects. Lack of sleep is very damaging in itself!

Yes try other options and really exhaust every possible non medicinal Avenue first but people shouldn’t be judging others for what is a very useful tool for many struggling parents and children.

I will add my sons melatonin is prescribed by his paediatrician.

cherrypavlova ouch! No of course I don’t want to drug my child rather than parent her! We have had hugely challenging times as she’s been diagnosed with attachment disorder, anger issues & possible autistic traits. She does get extremely anxious. Melatonin was just one thing that I have heard about & it cropped up a lot on FB pages for adopted children & children with attachment disorders. It may well be not suitable or not necessary but I just thought I’d dip a toe in the water. I love DD very much & all I want to do is help her 🙂

Ffs all of this may have been tried already. I know we did, when one of my autistic children had no sleep whatsoever for 4 days and nights melatonin was a gift. We slept in shifts. But I guess the fact he really does not need sleep is due to poor parenting @cherrypavlova . Even with melatonin they only sleep 4 hours a night and have been to a sleep clinic.

I’ve just started once or twice a week with my DC. They are night owls and have anxieties, and one keeps the other awake. The result is two very tired, angry . grumpy children as the week goes on. They aren’t allowed screens in bed, have a story and are allowed to read until tired. But sometimes that can be 11-12pm or one of them sobbing that they can’t sleep. I went to visit a friend and she used it for her girls occasionally and I thought why not try it.

Christmasfairy07. I don’t doubt you love your child. I do doubt not taking control of her use of a tablet is in her best interests. Getting rid of that mightbseem harder but might be more effective than medicalising tantrums.
I say that having lived in a residential special school for many years where boys were prescribed melatonin and many other drugs prior to admission but who didn’t need them once firm but reasonable boundaries were established, rules were explicit and there was a couple of hours physical activity each evening followed by a strong bedtime routine.

Following - one of my twins has recently been diagnosed with ASD and it takes him hours every night to get to sleep. Once he’s asleep he doesn’t sleep badly but he just can’t get to sleep which has a knock on effect on his mood and behaviour the next day, it’s a vicious circle. Was going to speak to his paediatrician about it to see if it’s worth trying as being over tired isn’t helping him.

One of my DC had melatonin, they used it every night for about 8 months and it re kick started his sleeping pattern so we managed without it until 3 years later and then needed to restart taking them again.

Melatonin is the hormone your body naturally produces at bedtime, it is not a sleeping pill.

I would use it in your situation 100%. I work with teenagers with mental health problems and ASD and it can be very good. I suspect that the posters being critical above haven't had the experience of trying to settle distressed children for hours every night, then the resulting tiredness for the dc and parents making and daytime issues harder than necessary.

If you do reach that point where you think she needs help with feeling tired then you've nothing to lose by trying it. If it works, great. If it doesn't then you can try something else, no harm done.

Pay no mind to any judgemental comments, lots of children and young adults with ASD, ADHD, or other neurodevelopment conditions use melatonin as a sleep aid to help them drift off. It isn't a sedative or a sleeping tablet, the body naturally makes melatonin and this medication helps boost how much so can be a very useful tool alongside a good bedtime routine and sleep habits.

No screens 2 hours before bed & only a maximum of 2 hours screen time (not all in one go) per day. Try 30 minutes reading before bed, or audio books :)

With the best will in the world and all the top sleep hygiene practices, sometimes you need melatonin. My ds has major mental health problems and wasn't falling asleep til 1. Now he falls asleep around 10.30 and looks very different.

We make melatonin when we're asleep, so difficulty sleeping soon gets you into a vicious circle.

Sleep is Soooooo important to your health and wellbeing. Get advice from a paediatrician or psychiatrist. You don't have to use it for long, often just to break the cycle.

Agree some very harsh responses!!

My Ds has SENs issue, we are currently waiting on a full diagnosis but adhd has been mentioned.

I have given him a good routine he’s taken upstairs in plenty of time to settle down away from screens. He gets a little supper and milk, a nice relaxing bath. I use lavender. He gets story’s, and some cuddles.

He gets a good routine and has done so since he was a baby but it takes hours for him to go to sleep. This evening his bedtime routine started at 7-30pm and I was with him until 11.30pm before he was asleep!! This is not a one off this is my nightly routine. Most nights it takes around 3 hours. I have no life or personal time in the evening I am in his room until he is asleep.

I am often tired myself by the time he’s asleep or may not get a chance to quickly pop back downstairs to leave something out for morning etc! So the effects of this can slip into the next day and have an impact on the full family.

I wouldn’t find this as hard if he would then sleep till morning but he’s up twice every night without fail and I am awake with little sleep myself. He’s 7 so not a baby and no need to waken at night! And even though he’s not sleeping to late and up during the night he’s certainly not sleeping in he’s awake at 6am!!

Pleas keep in mind he’s not sleeping some nights until close to midnight!’ This is not healthy in so many ways not for him not for me.

His SENs issue are something which has came to light just last year and we are at the beginning of what I think is a long journey but already my Gp has mentioned there is things to help him sleep if we wanted to think about it further down the line... if I like other mothers do consider this it’s certainly not because I choose NOT to parent!

There are parents who have to work much harder to get basic things to work for there child like getting them to sleep.

There are plenty of neglect children out there who won’t get a supper, milk, hot bath, tucked up and told how much they are loved..... yet the will probably get themselves to sleep with no routine this is called NOT parenting!!

I am at breaking point with my ds with regards to sleep as the world still carries on and no gives a crap the next day if I have had 4 hours sleep I still need to go to work and get on with looking after the rest of the family and the house.

I am not even at the stage of considered medication at the moment until I know exactly what is going on with Ds and have tried some further SENs options like weight blankets but for a lot of children stepping away from an IPad and having a bit of lavender is not going to solve the issues they have.

I don't blame you for trying different things but Melatonin had no effect on me - AT ALL! Might work on kids, I don't know.

Most 'natural remedies' don't even touch the sides for me but melatonin has been great for my insomnia. I take it once or twice a week when really necessary. It sends me off to sleep after about 20 minutes and I wake up fresh as a daisy as it's worn off by then so no drowsiness.

I don't blame you for trying different things but Melatonin had no effect on me - AT ALL!

The dose may have been too low. I first took one 1.9mg pill as recommended on the box which did nothing. I started taking 2 or 3 and it worked a treat. (I had previously checked on the NHS website to see that the safe dose is up to 10mg, if I remember correctly).

Have just bought some today for me, as I have insomnia (thnaks perimenopause). I can just buy it here in Belgium, but it has to be prescribed in the UK or so Holland and Barrett tell me. Will start using in about 10 days when I'm back from delivering my Mum home after Christmas and driving back again.

DS13 takes melatonin - it helps him drop off. Before he started taking it he'd just lie in bed quietly for hours and not be able to sleep. Poor guy. He's so much happier now, doing much better at school, coping much better with life.

His paediatrician and psychologist both recommended melatonin for him.

Dd took melatonin it was prescribed for her. It did work ok at first but she was waking in the night/very early so wasn't what she needed. She takes circadin now which works better, again this was prescribed for her.

Melatonin is what the body naturally produces and can help regulate their sleeping patterns, I don't think it's harmful to take so you should give it a go as lack of sleep has many many effects.
I'm not sure where you get it though as ours was prescribed, can you buy it in a shop?

Melatonin is a naturally produced Hormone, some people don't produce enough of it and are prescribed it it isn't a sleeping tablet!It works for a lot of children with Asd/Adhd etc, but it doesn't work for everyone , it never worked for my son.

DS takes melatonin and has for several years. It doesn't help him stay asleep, it just helps him drop off, but I think it makes the sleep he has of better quality. He sleeps around 5 hours every night.

If it works it can be a godsend. And it isn't drugging a child ffs