I have a 3yr old that has never really slept and is alway on the go so i was talking to my gp and he prescribed him melatonin to help him sleep.. But im in two places about give such a young child drugs to sleep but at the same time it may just help him with all his other behavior issues.. We are waiting to see a pediatrician about thses things as we seen a speechy and she thinks it may be autism and adhd.
Would anyone have and experience with melatonin in children so young that may ve able to help..
Tia
7 Replies
I think it's best you do as much research as you can also seek other doctors opinions being your child is only 3 but It's your child and you no your child best ..
My son was dionosed with ASD/ADHD when he was 7 .. I tried dieting and many other things to try help before it come to medication ..
Melatonin it's a natural chemical and it's been a God sent since my son has been on it not only helping him sleep at night it also helps with anixidy in the day ...
Do what you feel is right your his mother .. Good luck ..
Melatonin is the hormone in the brain that tells a person it is time to sleep. That is all it is. It's not like giving a child a 'sleeping tablet'.
It can make a huge difference, imagine you not both not battling sleep at night and him waking happier during the day.
I worried that because of him being so young that his brain will become dependent on the supplement and what side effects it will have on my tiny boy
I've not heard of a child becoming dependent on it. It's not 'addictive' like Valium or the likes.
It will do what his brain isn't doing like telling it it's time to go to sleep! Which his brain currently isn't doing.
It's considered very safe. I know lots of kids with ASD who are on it and it's definitely made there lives better, not damaged them.
Yes it can be scary giving your child meds but there are awful side effects to not sleeping. Behaviour problems, failure to thrive and learn, failure to grow, psychiatric conditions can develop. There is a reason we need to sleep.
I felt guilty for giving my son epilepsy meds! But they stop seizures.
Oh and lack of sleep lowers seizure threahold.
You don't have to use it long term, I know some people use it occasionally or once a week etc.
Being outside when the sun sets, twilight, releases melatonin to trigger your body to go to sleep. bright light including screens tells the body to wake up again.
Most people need about an hour of twilight or dull light or dark to calm down from the day and get to sleep.
I realise medication is sometimes needed, but recognising this and sticking to it helped me get my children and myself to sleep well at night.
It's really common to use it in kids with autism and ADHD - apparently their bodies don't make enough of the hormone sometimes and they need extra. It isn't a "drug" the same way as Valium or Stilnox is a drug, it's a synthetic hormone supplement. Seriously, if he doesn't sleep and nothing you've done so far has helped, at least TRY it. I'm sure you need sleep too and having some rest will likely help him too. I have several friends with ASD kids and melatonin has made an enormous difference to their lives.
I trialed my child on melatonin at 2.5years as per paediatrician advice. My child was diagnosed with anxiety and had severe sleep issues (averaging 3-4hours max. a night of broken sleep). I was extremely hesitant for the same reasons you are. In my mind it was a short term fix. I did a lot of research and agreed to try it, I actually tried it myself before giving it to my child. I gave my child the minimum dosage to which I was advised I could top her up during the night until we reached maximum dosage however during the night she never wanted any more. I found there to be no side affects for my child and she was asleep within 15mins of taking it however would wake a couple of hours later and would be more distressed then she would be without taking it and even harder then normal to get back to sleep so I found to get her to sleep earlier and get a solid couple of hours sleep it worked fantastic however didn't benefit in any other way. Had found a lot of others who had used it with their children for different reasons and had fantastic results. We tried it for a couple of months consistently for the first couple of weeks and then only used it when I really really needed to.