Melatonin for 7 year old? Are the benefits worth the risk?

[SpinningTops]

DD is 7. IMO she doesn't get enough sleep. We take her to bed at 7, bedtime story and usually all tucked up by 7:30. It takes her until 9:30 / 10 to get to sleep. She can't switch off.

If we keep her up later it still takes 2 hours for her to get to sleep so just pushes it later. She has been like this since about 4.

She's active in the day, doesn't have screens other than a couple of days a week where she'll have an hour or so of TV before dinner so not down to screen time.

She's up at 6:30/7am most days, a bit later on weekend.

She's away with the fairies most of the time, struggles to concentrate but I think this is down to probable dyslexia.

I wonder whether it's worth speaking to the GP about trying melatonin to help her drift off and if it will benefit her. I'm not sure of risks, but I'm sure there must be some.

Anyone have similar situation and tried it / decided not to try it?

It does sound like ADHD, esp if a sibling is in the waiting list for neurodiverse assessment. Six mg is the recommended max. Dose for children, but I have seen it higher in tier 4 settings. It’s supposed to be less effective at a higher level. We also have periods of a break from meletonin - usually school holidays - as long term use can make it less effective.

CAHMS have never had a problem with us buying it online (some of my autistic dc prefer gummies). GPS seems to be more concerned, but CAMHs psychiatrists always find this a bit strange in my experience. I have had a lot of experience with this with three autistic dc. Only one takes it now.

My autistic child takes a 0.5mg gummie and it's been an absolute game changer.

However they were getting far less sleep than your daughter. I would agree with the advice to give her some more time before using medication.

And don't listen to the smug parents who have children who fall asleep mega early!

Can cause nightmares and thirst, not aware of any other side effects

have you got black out curtains?

We don't have a school nurse.

No black out curtains but it's the same through the winter when it's dark early. The sun doesn't seem to wake her on a morning.

I do often wake her on a morning to get ready for school. Or her loud brother wakes her up. She sleeps later on weekends sometimes (as long as brother hasn't)

After over a decade of parenting a child with ADHD/ASD and doing some research, I have come to believe that kids with ADHD may have a lower level of the necessary sleep hormones.

Humans vary on many other metrics: why not this?

You can do all the relaxation/blackout curtains/good sleep hygiene you like (and believe me, we did) - they've got busy brains.

Check to see if your daughter isn’t suffering from underlying anxiety. My daughter was very anxious due to school and it affected her sleep significantly as it’s difficult to switch off when your brain is in a hyper vigilant state

i am sure all children have access to a school nurse, ask your school, or GP surgery

How strange, I only asked where is reputable to buy from whilst waiting for the GP referral?

Piping Rock online.

My piping rock order is at the post office waiting to be picked up.

It took about 10 days to get here from the states. I only take 1mg a night.