Would you give melo on occasion? Why or why not?

amother

Seagreen

Tue, Aug 04 2020, 11:49 pm

amother [ Aqua ] wrote:

I was hesitant for a while and did alot of research on it. Melatonin DOES NOT harm a child, especially when given for a short while.
You can feel safe giving her for several days.

Btw, I had the same issue with my 3 year old.

Melatonin does not harm the child but because it's a hormone, it can cause kids to start developing early. I used to give a 1/2 a melowchew to DD every so often but I stopped it now that she's older.

amother

Turquoise

Wed, Aug 05 2020, 1:07 am

amother [ Natural ] wrote:

It can also be addictive and the child won’t be able to fall sleep without it.

I never had this problem.

amother

Turquoise

Wed, Aug 05 2020, 1:08 am

If you do give melatonin, you should be aware that you should be giving the smallest dose that is effective. Because it isn't a safety risk, the standard dose is actually several times the amount that some children need. Nothing that awful happens from giving too much, but some people experience really intense dreams.

amother

Indigo

Wed, Aug 05 2020, 1:48 am

My DD dropped her nap at age 2. She's now 3 and she can wake up at 645 am and sometimes not be ready to fall asleep at 9 pm. In those cases I have to give her a melochew. It's probably like once a week, sometimes twice a week.
A good day for her (meaning me) is wake at 7, go to sleep at 830.
That's almost like a unicorn.
With no camp because of Corona I'm EXHAUSTED.
Anyone else have a super active 3 yr old who just doesn't need a lot of sleep?

renslet

Wed, Aug 05 2020, 6:30 am

Not to be controversial but my ped actually suggested giving Benadryl. He said he preferred it to melatonin because it works better and is much stronger so you have to use way less and for fewer days.
I've used it the nights before school starts when my kids are still on summer schedule but I need them to go to sleep early because they need to wake up early.

Rappel

Wed, Aug 05 2020, 6:34 am

I would use it as a temporary reset. I did, actually, when we last visited the States. It had my DS adjusted in 3 days to the new sleep schedule, and had no lasting effect.

Rappel

Wed, Aug 05 2020, 6:36 am

amother [ Natural ] wrote:

It can also be addictive and the child won’t be able to fall sleep without it.

If you use it frequently, then yes, the body will compensate by lowering its own melatonin production. Butv that kind of change happens over time.

amother

Ivory

Wed, Aug 05 2020, 9:06 am

Rappel wrote:

If you use it frequently, then yes, the body will compensate by lowering its own melatonin production. Butv that kind of change happens over time.

I would love to see evidence for this. I keep hearing people make this claim but haven’t seen it backed by data

Frumwithallergies

Wed, Aug 05 2020, 9:14 am

Melatonin is better tolerated in children and the elderly. I always warn adults that it can give them nightmares.

Always use the lowest effective dose and use it for short periods of time. It is a reset of sorts and best used with non-pharmacological approach combined (like shutting down screens 2 h before bed; dimming lights, etc).

Benadryl is a good option too, but can sometimes give paradoxical hyperactivity.

amother

Wed, Aug 05 2020, 9:34 am

Frumwithallergies wrote:

This... we once gave Benadryl for a hives situation and the kid couldn’t sleep from being hyper. We also ended up on the ED because immediately after giving the Benadryl she suddenly spiked a fever of 104+. Everything was perfectly fine (other than the urticaria) so there was suspicion on Benadryl having caused the fever.

amother

Ivory

Wed, Aug 05 2020, 9:40 am

Frumwithallergies wrote:

melatonin can have that paradoxical effect too. Especially at higher doses.

amother

Pink

Wed, Aug 05 2020, 10:27 am

I give 1/4 mg to my boys who have a difficult time falling asleep every night. My pediatrician says I shouldn't think twice about it.

mha3484

Wed, Aug 05 2020, 10:32 am

I have one kid that has a lot of sleep anxiety and one that is a major copy cat of the older. I give the older kid 1mg of melatonin for years and my pediatrician said its totally fine. I give the younger kid one or two drops which is 1 or 2/10 of a mg. I have been cutting it back with time to get to the lowest dosage I need to get him to sleep.

amother

Wed, Aug 05 2020, 10:36 am

My older dd has trouble falling asleep too. We once saw an endo for a minor thing & while there asked about the sleep issue, she said absolutely NO to melo...

Anyway, we have the ok from the ped so we’ll try it now for this kid for a few nights. She fell asleep after 1 last night...