Do you give kids alcohol/drowsy meds to help them sleep?

Liba

Wed, Oct 19 2011, 5:33 am

Mama Bear I give my carsick/fight sick kids dramamine when I have to... it does make them sleep but my kids wake up disoriented and combative, generally screaming, when it is wearing off... It is horrible. We very very rarely have temper tantrums (and certainly not when out and about) without Dramamine involved. It is always a toss up with me, which is worse, the screaming or the vomiting. If I didn't have such a hard time with vomit we would never use the stuff...

FranticFrummie

Wed, Oct 19 2011, 5:48 am

I stick to the tried and true, doctor endorsed remedies like belladonna, laudanum and opium. 100% herbal and natural!

Hey, if it was good enough for our great grandmothers, it's good enough for us, right? Tongue Out

Annie

Wed, Oct 19 2011, 3:42 pm

Dramamine and Benadryl are the same. Tylenol PM is Tylenol plus BENADRYL.

My dd had melatonin for about a year, after the valerian stopped working. she had several sleep studies, and the recommendations for valerian and melatonin were from the sleep doctors b/c she wasn't relaxing enough to fall asleep, or not sleeping deeply enough. We weaned her off this past spring. Turns out the best move was putting the new baby in the room with her. she woke up a lot at the beginning, but now she sleeps hard and doesn't even hear the baby unless she's really crying.

amother

Thu, Oct 20 2011, 9:39 pm

Maybe I don't understand the question, but it seems appalling to me! To give kids medicine for fighting or not sleeping?! Yes, children fight, and it's B"H very healthy. Children in dysfunctional neglected homes are more prone to stick together and not fight. Maybe they need more incentives, time outs, more limits. Try keeping them off caffeine drinks/treats, and food colorings - that usually wires up children. What about good old fashioned warm milk with honey to help them sleep?

chocolate chips

Sat, Oct 22 2011, 8:22 pm

There is a medicine called phenergan (in UK) I cant remember what it is really meant for but I know that my mother's doctor used to give it to her for whichever of my siblings were really bad at night. One spoon at the same time every night for a week is meant to train the child into going to sleep - I dont remember which of my siblings it worked for!

Right now I wish there was something I could give my son to put him to sleep but I wouldn't drug him without a dr approval - anyway he is teething, we gave him nurofen and he slept for 2 hours!! not very helpful in my very tired opinion Wink

obagys

Sun, Oct 23 2011, 3:25 pm

I don't give my kids anything to help them fall asleep earlier. My 5yo will often stay up till 10pm even thought bedtime is at 8pm, but she is fine the next day, so why would I drug her?

I actually never heard of Melatonin until my 9yo DD slept over her friend's house for Shabbos. They were up very late talking/playing/etc and her friend's mother told them it was very, very late and time to go to sleep. My daughter was still excited and giggly and her friend gave her a Melatonin shock

I only know about it bec the mother apologized and told me about it when she found out what had happened. I also had a convo with my daughter about not taking any meds from friends, strangers, etc...

dmum

Sun, Oct 23 2011, 4:04 pm

Chocolate chips, Phenergan is an antihistamine, slightly stronger than Piriton. You can get it OTC for chicken pox, hay fever, mosquito bites, etc. The side effect is that it makes you drowsy, but its main purpose is to stop itching and seasonal allergies. It's a perfectly legal thing to give your kid in that sense.

EmesOrNT

Sun, Oct 23 2011, 4:07 pm

chocolate chips wrote:

um phenergan is like reglan, which is a stronger version on zofran, an anti nausea med given to chemo patients. I took it in my iv when I was pregnant. its really strong and made me extremely groggy and disoriented.