Can I Give My 10 Month Old Melatonin

Parents Are Giving Sleeping Pills To Their Babies And Toddlers

Turns out the sleeping pills referred to in the story arent actual sleeping pills. The story is really about parents who give their young children melatonin at night, in an effort to help their babies and toddlers sleep.

For many families, melatonin makes a huge difference in their childrens sleep. That was true for Mindie Barnett, a mom who was interviewed for this news story. As she explained, it used to take her toddler up to 2 hours to fall asleep at bedtime now, with the help of the melatonin drops, it takes just 10 minutes.

Big improvement, right? And all thanks to a natural, doctor-prescribed sleep aid. But Barnett isnt alone increasing numbers of parents are turning to melatonin to cure their childrens sleep problems. As Dr. Sanjeev Kothare, who was also interviewed for the story, points out,

Families have heard from others, theyve seen on the Internet, theyve seen it on TV, that melatonin may be a useful product and an easy fix, said Dr. Sanjeev Kothare of NYU Langone Medical Center.

Healthy Sleep Habits For Kids

If you choose to give your child melatonin to help them sleep, it should be in partnership with other healthy sleep habits. Here are some safe alternatives to melatonin for your child:

• Routine:Set a routine and stick to it every night.
• Daytime naps: Keep daytime naps short, especially for older kids.
• Sleep in bed: Put them to bed while they are awake .
• No caffeine:The American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry advises against children under 12 consuming any caffeine.
• No sugar before bed: Every parent can spot a sugar rush in children. Children hyped on sugar have a harder time settling down.
• Screen time: Cut off screen time 30 minutes before bed.
• Bed is bed: Keep your childs bed a place to sleep, not to play.
• Stay active: Keep kids active during the day so they can get their energy out while its light out.

Is It Safe For A 9 Month Old Baby To Take Melatonin

Question posted by hotshondra805 on 27 June 2014

I know some.one who gives their 9 month old baby melatonin every day he sleeps almost all day long minutes the two hours he spends crying .the parents don’t give him any attention at all barley changing his diaper maybe twice a day.when he is awake he looks completely lethargic and unresponsive .please tell me if this.can do damage to him.

Mother of blessings

It’s obvious that they have not asked the pediatrician or read up on melatonin.melatonin is not harmful at all it’s a natural substance we have melatonin in out body’s naturally.i have asked my pediatrician about it for my son and he says it is a great substance to use for children.these people are saying some one needs to call child protection services on the people that they are talking about ..I bet that they are using it now on their children or child ..some people love to judge before knowing the whole story or facts .the commenter just ask one question and these people went to far . you wouldnt want no one to call them on you because everyone in the world have a different way of dealing with their children.as long as the baby is not being abused or starved or any other type of way harmful to the baby ..you people need to stop ..

+0Cass96+0Mother of blessingsDelinapNickieMarieD

My Pediatrician recommended that I give my 10 month old son, .25 mg of melatonin before bed. I don’t know if I should?

+0atwo9200+0NonaDy+1kmlvr9+0angel1662+0DzooBaby+1+0+2

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Is Melatonin For Babies Safe

Melatonin for babies, in general, is safe, but you should always discuss it with your childs pediatrician before beginning this supplement. You also have to be sure to follow the correct dosage, as giving too much can have dire consequences.

Following the correct dosage and guidelines given by a pediatrician, melatonin for babies is safe for short-term use only. There is not enough valid research done to guarantee the safety of long-term use, so it is important to avoid giving it for an extended length of time.

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Final Thoughts On Melatonin For Babies

Melatonin for babies is becoming increasingly common as parents learn more about the benefits and risks. If your baby isnt sleeping enough, it can cause issues for both of you, and it could even hinder your babys growth and development.

While supplementing with melatonin helps babies sleep and is generally safe, it is important to consult your babys pediatrician before beginning. The pediatrician will consider a variety of factors before determining the frequency and the dosage necessary to help your baby sleep.

If you have already tried everything to help your baby sleep better, melatonin may be the way to go. Youll likely find relief quickly and, if things work out as predicted, your baby will be able to establish a more normal sleep cycle even without the supplement.

Disclaimer:

Melatonin For Kids: What To Know

Melatonin supplements are marketed to parents as a safe, effective, drug-free, non-habit-forming sleep aid for kids. It sounds like a godsend, but don’t give melatonin without careful consideration and the approval and guidance of your child’s doctor.

Melatonin is a hormone that our bodies produce in varying amounts throughout the day and night. It affects our internal clock , and therefore our sleep cycles. Our bodies produce more melatonin after dark, peaking in the middle of the night and dropping just before morning.

The research on melatonin as a sleep aid in children isn’t solid yet. Many of the studies are small, haven’t used standardized terminology or measures , and often contain biases.

Still, many studies show that taking melatonin supplements may help some children fall asleep more quickly and sleep longer. These studies have mostly been done with children who have conditions such as Autism Spectrum Disorder or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder , which can make sleep difficult.

One study of 125 children and adolescents with ASD, for example, showed the use of prolonged-release melatonin resulted in sleep that was about an hour longer at night. It also decreased the amount of time needed to fall asleep by 40 minutes, without causing an earlier wakeup time.

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Can I Give My 8 Month Old Melatonin

How many times should a 10-month-old wake up at night?

How many times does a 10-month-old wake up at night? Many 10-month-old babies can sleep for 11 to 12 hours through the night without needing any help from you. Especially if theyve developed strong independent sleeping skills and are eating well during the day, you may not hear a peep out of them until morning.

It Sounds Great Why Should I Worry About Melatonin

NOTE:

There are several areas for concern, specifically known and theoretical side effects, and problems with preparations.

This means there is substantially less regulatory oversight in terms of safety and efficacy. I also find that the labelling of preparations is frequently misleading. Take the example of this liquid preparation, which many of my patients have tried. It is labeled as 1 mg but each dropperful contains 0.25 mg.

You need to go to the web to get this information as it is not on the bottle. .

A 2020 study of the PedPRM long acting melatonin formulation followed 80 children for 2 years, and did not show any evidence of effects on weight, height, body mass index, or Tanner staging .This is the best long term study of melatonin safety and is quite reassuring.

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What Does Melatonin Do

Research has shown that taking melatonin supplements is especially helpful for people who have specific sleep problems. It’s useful in resetting your body from jet lag. It can help people who have trouble falling asleep if they are anxious about something like surgery.

Melatonin can help make children feel sleepier before bedtime. This helps them wind down and go to sleep earlier than they would without the supplement.

Melatonin is especially helpful in helping kids with specific health or behavior conditions, including:

Children who have these issues tend to have trouble falling asleep on their own. Melatonin supplements help them get to sleep more easily.

How Do Babies Produce Melatonin

During pregnancy, a babys circadian rhythm is largely determined by the mothers activity levels. When the mother is active, the babys heart and respiratory rates will speed up and when the mother is resting or sleeping, they will slow down again. Maternal melatonin also passes through the placenta, which helps babies to sleep when their mother is sleeping.

After birth this placental connection is broken, however, melatonin can still be passed on to babies through breast milk. The babys pineal gland will also be activated immediately after birth, meaning they will start to produce their own melatonin. Unfortunately, melatonin is only released in extremely small amounts to start with but this will increase with age.

In addition to producing their own melatonin, babies will also start to develop their own circadian rhythms post-birth. Initially, their sleep patterns can be quite erratic and some newborn babies will also experience day/night confusion. Somewhere between 8-16 weeks of age their circadian rhythms will mature and they will start to fall into more predictable sleep patterns.

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What To Use Instead Of Melatonin For Kids

The safest approach for addressing sleep problems in children is to try non-pharmaceutical sleep strategies first. One study found that proper “sleep hygiene” is as effective as melatonin in half of children with sleep problems.

Sleep hygiene means having a bedroom environment and daily routines that promote good sleep. The most important part of good sleep hygiene for babies and kids is a consistent daily schedule, including set bedtimes and naptimes, wake-up times, and a nightly bedtime ritual.

Other things to try before sleep-aid supplements :

• A night light can help soothe any fears keeping your child awake. You might want to try a timed nightlight so that the light doesn’t stay on all night and possibly wake your child too early.
• Transitional objects, such as loveys, can help your child self-soothe at night. So can a pacifier.

BabyCenter’s editorial team is committed to providing the most helpful and trustworthy pregnancy and parenting information in the world. When creating and updating content, we rely on credible sources: respected health organizations, professional groups of doctors and other experts, and published studies in peer-reviewed journals. We believe you should always know the source of the information you’re seeing. Learn more about our editorial and medical review policies.

Berring-Uldum A et al 2018. Melatonin for children with insomnia. Ugeskr Laeger 180: V08170628. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29761771/

When Should Melatonin Not Be Used

As mentioned above, children lose sleep for many reasons. Avoid melatonin:

• if the insomnia is situational
• if the insomnia is short-term
• if the insomnia is due to an underlying physical cause
• if your child is younger than 3.

Melatonin should never substitute for healthy sleep practices: a regular, age-appropriate and consistent bedtime and bedtime routine, no caffeine, and no electronics or screens before bedtime.

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Parents Are Relying On Melatonin To Help Their Kids Sleep Should They

A survey suggests that nearly half of children with difficulty sleeping have taken melatonin.

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For the Langstaff family, the bedtime routine had become more like a bedtime marathon.

My son has struggled with sleep from the moment he was born, Anna Langstaff, the head of a Montessori school in Portland, Ore., said of her 6-year-old son, Henry. We used to joke that he was like a little knight fighting a dragon called sleep.

When Henry was a toddler, dimming the lights and other bedtime cues simply sent him into battle mode she said. Hed start yelling, No bed! No bed!

After years of struggling with what had become a two-hour bedtime routine, the Langstaffs turned to their pediatrician, who recommended a chocolate containing melatonin, a hormone secreted by a pea-size organ in the brain called the pineal gland that helps regulate the bodys internal clock and induces sleepiness.

It was like magic, she said. Now Henry falls asleep at 7:30 p.m. and continues to wake up at the same time he always has, shortly before 6 a.m., Langstaff said.

Magic game changer these are words frequently used by parents describing how melatonin helps their children fall asleep.

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If Youve Decided To Use Melatonin With Your 2

Because melatonin is not approved by the FDA as a sleep aid in children, before you give it to your toddler, it is imperative that you talk it over with your pediatrician. Once youve gotten the go-ahead, start with the smallest dose possible. Most kids respond to 0.5 1 milligram. Start with 0.5, and see how your toddler does. You can increase by 0.5 milligrams every few days until you find the right dose.

In addition to giving the right amount of melatonin, its equally important to give it at the right time. If your toddler has a hard time falling asleep, experts recommend giving them their dose about 1-2 hours before bedtime. But some kids need help with the sleep/wake cycle throughout the night. In these cases, pediatric sleep expert Dr. Craig Canapari suggests a low dose at dinnertime. It can really depend on why your toddler needs melatonin, so definitely talk to your pediatrician about the right time to administer it, too.

There Are Certain Things You Should Try Before Turning To Melatonin For Babies However Including:

• implementing and maintaining regular bedtime routines and times.
• Only allow your baby to sleep for a certain amount of times.
• Refrain from using electronics and lights an hour before bed.
• Make sure your baby is going to sleep with a clean diaper.
• Ensure your baby is not hungry before sleep time.

While usually, melatonin helps babies sleep, you may, unfortunately, find yourself still dealing with the problem of your baby not sleeping enough. If this occurs even after offering melatonin, there may be another underlying issue that needs to be addressed.

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What Are The Possible Side Effects

The jury is still out on melatonin and children. Many experts encourage melatonin use, but others warn that the research that currently exists could use more information.

Melatonin has been proven to improve sleep quality in babies and children, but the long-term effects of melatonin use are unknown due to said limited research.

Common side effects from melatonin supplements are fairly mild. Morning drowsiness, bedwetting, dizziness, and diarrhea have been reported in the past. There is a chance that melatonin supplements may lead to sleepiness that can last throughout the day for a child.

It is important to know that melatonin has NOT been tested as a pharmaceutical as the FDA regulates it as a food supplement, nor have all labels on supplement products been found to be accurate about the precise amount of melatonin included.