Melatonin for Jet Lag

[GummyDrops3]

Hello,
My wife is planning on flying back to her hometown on the other side of the world (9 hour flight / 12 hour time zone difference). She wants to get the most out of her 16 day trip. She is quite keen to give our 2.5 year old daughter melatonin for the jet lag and to reset her body clock when she gets there and back.

Perhaps I'm old fashioned but I dont believe in giving any sort of medicine or hormones etc. unless something is actually wrong. I've seen so much mixed information regarding melatonin on the web - some people use it freely for jet lag, some sites recommend age limits, and some people I've spoken to take a hardline no to it.

While the melatonin will certainly help my wife (and me) deal with a sleepless toddler, I dont know if it's the right thing to do for our daughter.

Am I being unreasonable in putting my foot down with wife and saying no to melatonin?...or am I just being old fashioned and out of touch

I'm probably in the minority but my son took melatonin prescribed by a doctor from age 4 every night as he is autistic and his sleep was horrendous. I'd say your wife is right

Just wanted to add she's a healthy girl. no sleep issues at present. does a full 11 hours every night.

I can totally understand situations in which it's prescribed to treat a larger sleep or medical issue, but im really focusing on the suitability for travel.

Really not a big deal for a one off trip. I live abroad and some of our friends do this when travelling to the UK with their kids. Otherwise your entire trip will be ruined by a very very wingey toddler. It makes it a nicer trip for the kid too.

UK is a bit weird with melatonin- we can buy it in the supermarket here.

Edited for balance though: you should be prepared for it to not be a miracle cure. It makes me go to the bathroom 100x night and gives me vivid dreams but I seem to be the minority!!!

I know toddlers can be hard work when travelling but it wouldn't sit right with me to drug them into docility.

I'm a melatonin user (available at supermarkets here) cause I have some sleep issues and it helps. I also know kids who use them nit they're either autistic/adhd/sleep problems. While I don't think it is dangerous or anything, I wouldn't do it for a healthy kid on the off chance they might have some jetlag