This week on Mom to Mom, Local 10′s Nicole Perez spoke to South Florida doctors about the pros and cons of giving melatonin to children to help them sleep at night.
Melatonin is a synthetic form of a hormone our brain naturally produces to help you fall asleep at night.
While many may have tried it, the number of parents giving it to children are on the rise.
Dr. Heidi Cohen, the Medical Director of the Children’s Emergency Department at Joe DiMaggio’s Children’s Hospital says creating a good sleep environment for your child and giving their brain a chance to shut off and relax is a better way to get them to fall asleep naturally.
“I’m not in the melatonin fan club. There is nothing magic about sleep and children. It’s a process and no pill is just going to make them fall asleep,” said Cohen.
But there are some mothers like Nicole Browne who say a special nighttime routine is not always doable.
“That’s not real life. I have three kids there is no way I can do a special bedtime routine every night. Warm bath, jammies, magnesium massage cream and read a story. That’s not real life,” said Browne.
All of Browne’s children are under the age of four. She said she’s never had a bad experience with the supplement.
“I think once in a while when you need it, it’s there. I’ve never had a bad experience. It puts them right to sleep and they sleep through the night,” said Browne.
While some pediatricians say it’s a no-go for them, Doctor Hila Beckerman, who is also a mother of four, says she is ok with it every once in a while.
“If you’re going to give your kids melatonin for the short term, say you got back from a flight and your kids are jet lagged. There is no problem with that. If you want to do a couple nights of melatonin, I don’t have an issue with that,” said Beckerman.
A new report by the U.S. Center for Disease Control revealed about 11,000 children have ended up in emergency rooms in recent years after ingesting melatonin while unsupervised. The report noted that many of the incidents involved ingestion of flavored products such as gummies and emphasized the importance of keeping medications and supplements out of children’s reach and sight.
“I think parents are stressed out. Times have changed. They say it takes a village, but no one has a village. Most moms are doing it all on their own,” said Browne.
Melatonin is not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. It is considered a dietary supplement, so it is not held to the same standards as over the counter or prescription drugs. Which means consumers will not know for certain how many milligrams of melatonin are contained in a single gummy.
“That does concern me if I’m looking at a bottle and it says one milligram per gummy, and I want to know that there is one milligram if that’s the case. I would definitely be more careful about what brands I buy or use,” said Browne.
Melatonin can cause side effects like nausea, headache, dizziness and disorientation.
“It doesn’t deter me that much to be honest. I don’t care what anyone thinks they’re my children. This is my life. I do think there needs to be more research put into it and people need to talk openly about it,” said Browne.
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